SQCC Launches Book Club

The Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center Library hosted its inaugural session of the SQCC Book Club on 4 December, 2019. The club’s mission is to promote reading and discussion of literature from or about the Sultanate of Oman. The first meeting included a group discussion of selected stories from My Grandmother’s Stories: Folk Tales from Dhofar by Khadija bint Alawi Al-Dhahab and translated into English by W. Scott Chahanovich.

 

The book features a collection of fifteen folktales passed down orally from generation to generation in Oman. The author, who grew up in Oman’s southern province of Dhofar, transcribed and compiled these stories about princesses, peasants, genies, and talking animals. These traditional folk tales give readers of all ages a unique glimpse into Omani life and customs.

 

Book club members read aloud excerpts from three folks tales – The Sly Fox, The Magic Ring, and The Prince and the Clever Maiden. Many SQCC Book Club members drew parallels from the morals found in these Dhofari stories to lessons from folktales found in both Eastern and Western traditions. Omani coffee and dates accompanied the discussion. The next session of the SQCC Book Club will be scheduled in March, 2020.

 

 If you are interested or someone you know would like to  join the SQCC book club, please email [email protected] with the subject line: “SQCC Book Club”.