The Calligraphers' Night

1923. The young Rikkat is being brought up in the belief that her entire life will be devoted to the art of calligraphy. That same year, Atatürk’s republic breaks away from the Islamic tradition, progressively abolishing the Arabic language and scripts in favor of a modified version of the Latin alphabet. Once the sacred ministers of Allah, calligraphers are now being marginalized and their schools closed. The resulting suicide of Rikkat’s mentor can only reinforce her spite for the new regime and her love for the ancient art she has been taught since her childhood. Inspired by the life of the author’s grandmother, The Calligraphers’ Night is a breathtaking excursion into the mysteries of life, death, and writing as an art. Yasmine Ghata is the daughter of the famed Lebanese poetess Vénus Khoury-Ghata. The Calligraphers’ Night is her first novel.