The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), part of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, has published the novel The Years of the Maghr:  a Stranger’s Biography by Emirati writer Maryam Al Zarouni. The publication forms part of the Qalam Creative Writing Programme, an initiative designed to support national talent and enrich the literary landscape through the development of new Emirati narratives.

This publication underscores part of the ALC’s commitment to promoting the Arabic language and establishing its role in articulating Emirati cultural identity and human diversity. These efforts are driven by initiatives that empower writers and develop their narrative skills within a creative environment that fosters literary innovation.

The Years of the Maghr, a 223-page novel, narrates the story of Ghareeb, a character born in Sharjah during a pivotal historical period in the Arabian Gulf - a time when identities were being formed and modern territorial borders were taking shape.

The narrative, available on ‘Kalima website’ (kalima.ae) traces the journey of the anxious protagonist's quest for self-affirmation and human recognition, as he navigates a world that acknowledges individuals almost solely through official documentation. His life thus unfolds as a continuous battle for the very right to exist.

A distinguishing feature of Al Zarouni’s writing is her command of language and use of innovative narrative techniques. In this novel, she grants voice to inanimate objects, transforming them into active participants in the narration. Through a tree, a rock, a mirror, and dreamlike apparitions, fragments of Ghareeb’s life are recounted. This polyphonic structure richly depicts the tension between times of scarcity and times of abundance, as well as the self’s fragmentation and evolution within the vast landscapes of the Gulf.

This dynamic interplay helps the author draw a parallel between the transformation of place and the evolution of the individual, crafting a tightly structured narrative that records memory and retrieves its accumulated layers.

The Years of the Maghr is Maryam Al Zarouni’s first novel written for adult readers. It follows her young adult novel A Letter from Harvard, which received the Al Owais Creative Award in 2018, and her children’s book My Dad – the Big Canary, published in 2022. In poetry, she has published Murmurs (2017) and It No Longer Matters (2021), and she has also contributed short stories to several anthologies, including What the Storytellers Omitted from One Thousand and One Nights (2021) and Seafaring Narratives (2022).

Launched in 2023 by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, the Qalam Creative Writing Programme aims to attract promising Emirati writers, fostering their talent and expanding their horizons. The programme also enables participants to work in specialised creative laboratories, culminating in the publication of their works as books, thereby enriching the Arab cultural landscape with new literary contributions.