A Lannan Foundation residency (in Marfa, Texas) gave me the opportunity to start work on this translation during the summer of 2004. I am happy to acknowledge the contribution of the Foundation and its staff to the welfare of this project. Martha Jessup provided intellectual support and Douglas Humble looked after my welfare while in Marfa. The work was finished with the support of the International Center for Writing and Translation at the University of California, Irvine. I am grateful to the Center for the award of one of its 2006–2007 translations grants, and to Professors Ammiel Alcalay, James Monroe, and Yasir Suleiman for their recommendations. Rick London and Sid Gershgoren read parts of the manuscript and offered many valuable suggestions. The unqualified support of Dan Nunn of Garnet Publishing was essential to the process of publication.
The contribution of my wife Jane Muhawi (whom in a previous acknowledgement I called “my native ear”) is more than can be put into words. Her superb command of the language and her ear for nuance have boosted my confidence in producing a translation that (I feel) does justice to the Arabic original.
Ibrahim Muhawi