The "Woman's Voice" Round Table

We had met before ... our faces were familiar ..
For never did an article or a story or a poem of ours appear in The Woman's Voice without our sending our pictures along with it .. taking pains that the pose of the face should be striking .. eyes turned a little to the left, a coquettish smile on the lips, and hair dressed with a great deal of loving care.
We had met before — do you suppose the pictures recognize one another?
And when a single room gathered us together, the lips knew their worth .. a cup of coffee and a cigarette, moistened and savored, a drowsy elation running through it .. and talk flowing with the assurance of the understanding human being, the philosophizing woman, and the expert man.
It could have been no one but her, Samira Azzam, to light the fuse.
— The Woman's Voice: for whom, and why, does it appear? Is it that magazine which takes up the causes of life and binds itself to bring out women's thinking upon them, and which therefore addresses both of them, the man and the woman? Or is it a magazine of fashions, and hairdressing, and the care of fingernails? Let us define the lines before we begin.
Samira would gladly have answered her question herself — for once she begins to speak, before and after melt away — had not the voice of Maguy Achkar al-Hajj broken out, saying:

What a difference there is in the readers' points of view on "The Woman's Voice" as it appears today!.. No two people agree about it .. and we do not exaggerate if we say that there is a wide divergence of judgment, in the face of which the editor-in-chief found herself in need of consultation and of sounding out opinions; so she invited to the monthly "round table" a bouquet of those who have accompanied the magazine through the stages of its ten years, whose eyes and hearts have never turned away from it .... in the hope that a drawing-together of opinion might help steer the editing toward a new course and a new policy, in which there would be, for the magazine and its readers, satisfaction and good ..
It was a lively session, in which Mr. Youssef al-Khal debated with Mrs. Maguy Achkar al-Hajj and Miss Samira Azzam. For an important excuse Mrs. Anbara Salam Khalidi was absent.

— The Woman's Voice falls short in one important respect .. the reportages on women of social, literary, and educational standing.

Ah, if only Edvick Jureidini Shayboub could say a word! But no! Her eyes gleam, her lips quiver, the word keeps dancing nervously upon them, and when it tires, it sinks into the depths of her silence.

And Samira goes back to the beginning ..

— We have not yet defined for whom and why The Woman's Voice appears, so that we may see where this charge of reportorial shortcoming falls.

It was natural for all eyes to turn toward Youssef al-Khal .. It was an opportunity! And for the first time he lifts the pipe from his mouth to tell the history of The Woman's Voice.

— The Lebanese Women's League was founded to raise the standing of woman .. and to fulfill this mission a magazine had to be issued .. It came out in the form of a newspaper, then turned into a bulletin .. As for the meaning of raising the standing of woman, it was never defined. "Reality" is what defined it.

And Samira said:

— Reality defined it ten years ago; but today it is for us to say our word: The Woman's Voice is on the way to being confined to Lebanon, in its writing and in its distribution alike — is that part of its policy?

And once more Edvick's eyes gleamed, and with much meaning they turned toward Fuad Badr, imploring him to speak of the poverty of means that stands in the way of the magazine's expansion; and the adventurous man laughed .. Is it not strange that Fuad should be called a businessman?

And Maguy said:

— You want the truth .. it is not we who determine the magazine's policy .. The magazine must draw its mission from the readers.

And my chance to speak came .. and it was not hard for me to say:

— That is why we are meeting here .. The issue is that there is a difference of opinion among the readers: some of them consider that it has moved away from woman's social world into the world of literature and poetry, while others see it as a magazine of a purely feminine stamp — and it is an injustice to woman that it should remain so.

And the old campaigner Youssef al-Khal lifted his pipe from his mouth:

— No, madam! The magazine, on its present course, is the best it can possibly be, considering its financial means and the absence of other magazines specializing in the different branches of life .. That is why The Woman's Voice has been all-embracing, and it must go on hoping in its future, and innovating, and winning new conquests.

The Woman's Voice magazine all-embracing! Says who?

There is a shortcoming Maguy would like to point out.
— The artistic side of the magazine is poor in relation to the readers' need .. Art is all but neglected, whether from the historical side or the national one — by which I mean the existence of prominent Lebanese and Arab women in art whose talents have not been drawn upon. What if The Woman's Voice appointed a correspondent to make the rounds of the art schools?

And Samira warmed to the task of rebutting this charge against The Woman's Voice, and said, with the echoes of memory in her voice:
— There is one exploit of The Woman's Voice that must be set down to its credit: the artistic reportages on the outstanding painters and sculptors of our country — have you not read them, Maguy? I confess that I came to know many artists through The Woman's Voice ....

But Maguy wants to know them all, especially the women. And Youssef said:
— The magazine has not yet completed its mission, and it is unfair to say that it falls short. What would you say if we put it this way: "What if The Woman's Voice turned its attention to such-and-such a side?"

This Western diplomacy saves a great deal. And Samira sensed that some were looking rather long at their watches, and grasped with her marvelous intuition that the time for talk had come to an end; and the last word was hers.
— The magazine needs a new dress, even an imaginary one. This classicism, Edvick, will never develop unless you open your door to the readers and hear their opinion. So why not arrange a monthly reception for whoever is jealous for the magazine and wants it to progress? At the very least we shall drink coffee!

— Acting upon this sound suggestion, The Woman's Voice will receive its friends, women and men, on the first Tuesday of every month at four o'clock in the afternoon — a warm welcome to all!!
— The Editors —