Iraqi novelist Samira al-Munin dies at 91

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi novelist Samira al-Munin has died at the age of 91, according to reports of her death published in Iraqi cultural outlets this week. She was born in Basra in 1935 and moved with her family to the Zubair district at the age of four. Al-Munin began her literary career in the 1960s by publishing short stories in the cultural press. Her first novel, "Al-Sabiqun wa al-Lahiqun," was released in 1972 by Dar al-Adab publishing house in Beirut and is regarded as a mature debut among early Arabic-language novels written by Iraqi women. She went on to write several other novels, including "The London Dilemma," "Al-Qamimun" and "Habl al-Surra." Her life and work were closely tied to "Al-Ightirab al-Adabi," a literary magazine she co-founded in London with her husband, the poet and translator Salah Miyari. Al-Munin was the sister of the late Iraqi author and translator Najiq al-Munin, widely recognized as a pioneering figure in modern Iraqi literature. No further details about her death were immediately available.