The new issue of “Banipal” Magazine has been released by the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, in two copies, paper and electronic. Bearing the serial number 52, it is full of abundant topics, research and various studies.
The issue is headed by a “Foreword” which states that “Banipal” Magazine is completing its twenty-sixth year, as its first issue was released in 1998, and it is still being published thanks to its esteemed readers, writers and management.
The editorial further states that, “As we browse through the current issue of ‘Banipal,’ however, we feel that our culture is still strong, and our writers continue to provide us with serious research and literary texts,” indicating that this gives us hope, “because educated pens are not deterred by swords, spears, and the whizzing of bullets.”
The magazine’s Arabic section includes serious and in-depth articles and studies, including “Musical Instruments and Music in Mesopotamia” by Ninos Shlimon Yousif from Sweden, in addition to a study prepared by Rakan Faraj Azar on King Sennacherib’s project to irrigate the city of Erbil. In the literary direction, Jibo Behnam Baba wrote about poet Samir Khorani’s recently published collection of poems titled: “Convolutions of Autumn Dreams.” This section also includes a remembrance of late novelist and short story writer Saadi al-Malih, with author Haitham Behnam Burda writing an article about him titled: “Flowers in the Presence of Writer Saadi al-Malih.”
The issue also includes articles, poems, and various other poetic texts, in addition to the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts’ most important news and activities during the past period.
The Syriac section includes a long interview about the artistic experience of painter Paul Batou from the United States of America, and a study about the difficulties and components of education in the mother tongue in the diaspora by writer Anwar Atto, who reviews in his article the three main obstacles facing diaspora children in learning our Syriac language, suggesting what he sees as appropriate to overcome them. Author Adel Dano also reviews in his article the most important stations in the life and writings of the late scholar Benjamin Haddad while, in the literary field, we read two poems in Syriac, one by writer and poet Nazar al-Derani and the other by author Peter Nabati.
In the Kurdish section, the magazine includes an article about the late Saadi al-Malih and his contributions to the cultural scene, written by Kurdish writer Khalil Abdullah and titled: “Saadi al-Malih, the Golden Pen.” Also, author Hawjin Sliwa wrote a Kurdish-language article about the village of Armota.
Finally, the magazine’s English section includes a study, as well as a selection of the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts’ activities during the past period, and up to the time of this issue’s circulation.
It is worth mentioning that “Banipal” is a quarterly cultural magazine issued by the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region in four languages: Syriac, Arabic, Kurdish and English. Its owner is the Regional Government’s Culture and Youth Minister, and its editor-in-chief is Kaldo Ramzi Oghanna.
You can read the new issue through the link below: