Rusted Radishes: Beirut Literary and Art Journal is happy to be in its 10th year of circulation! Over the years, we have published diverse work from bordering countries, the diaspora, and beyond. As we evolved, we opened the submissions to people connected to the MENA region. We do not insist on creating geographic borders for submissions, but we do acknowledge that Beirut’s revolving door of influences and cultures, its history, and its perch on the Mediterranean, is certainly at the heart of a unique convergence of voices.
Rusted Radishes has published hundreds of previously unpublished and interesting works by emerging and established writers and artists in its ezine since 2017 and print publications since 2012. The work at RR is a truly interdisciplinary endeavor as we publish all genres of literature as well as translations and graphic narratives in both English and Arabic as well as artwork in all forms. The journal is edited and designed by a staff of AUB faculty, students, and alumni and others.
In 2020, the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) awarded RR a grant to promote and support literature in Arabic. You can find these works in issues 9 and 10. In our progress to publish a bilingual journal, we look forward to advances and equal priority to the Arabic and English publications.
Between 2017-2019, thanks to a grant from the Center of Middle Eastern Studies at AUB, RR co-hosted the Tarjamat series for Translation Studies and Writing founded by Dr. Rana Issa. This series invited translators and writers from around the world to discuss their craft and special topics. Past guests of our series have included Yuri Herrera, Michele Morano, Lisa Dillman, Humphrey Davies, Magdy Shafee, Marilyn Hacker, Suneela Mubayi, Lina Mounzer, Chip Rosetti, Golan Hajji, Nael el Toukhy, Philip Metres, and Jeffrey Leong. You can find many of these writers’ and translators’ works in our ezine and print versions.
In 2017, the Center for Arts and Humanities at AUB awarded the journal a grant to build this website so that we could expand our reach further than print publication can.