FAMOUS

EGYPTIAN
WRITERS AND
POETS
 Naguib Mahfouz (1982)
• He was a novelist
• His notable work was The Cairo Trilogy
• He won a Nobel Prize for Literature on 1988, he was the only Arab writer
to have won the award.
 Yusuf Idris (1927-1991)
• He was a writer of plays, short stories, and novels.
• His famous work was a play called Al-Farafeer which was based upon
the paradoxical roles of the two main characters: the Masters and the
‘Farfour’ (poor layman)
• He was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize for Literature
• In 1997 he was awarded the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for his
novel City of Love and Ashes
 Tawfiq-al Hakim (1898-1987)
• He was a prominent Egyptian writer born in Alexandria, Egypt.
• He remains one of the pioneering figures of modern Arabic literature
• He has also often been described as the founder of an entire literary
tradition in the Arab theatre
• He also wrote a play called Death Song
 Yahya Haqqi (1905-1992)
• An Egyptian writer and novelist
• He used to be the adviser of the National Library of Egypt
• Some of his articles were; The Mother of the Helpless, The Dawn of the
Egyptian Novel, Antar and Juliet and many more
 Taha Hussein (1889-1973)
• Was said to be one of the most influential 20th century Egyptian writer and
intellectuals
• Being awarded the nickname: ‘Dean of Arabic Literature’
• His works were; Wednesday Talk, A Man of Letters, and The Call
 Ihsan Abdel Quddous (1919-1990)

• An Egyptian writer, journalist and novelist

• He left his law career to focus on his literature
• He received his first award for writing the novel My Blood, My Tears, My Smile
in 1973
• He also received a best screenplay award for his novel The Bullet Is Still in my
Pocket two years later
• Former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser awarded him with an Order of
Merit of the first class
 Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad (1889-1964 )
• An Egyptian poet, writer and member of the Arab Academy
• He wrote more than one hundred books about philosophy, religion and
poetry
• His most famous titles include al-’Abkariat, Allah, and Sarah
 Alis Mansour (1925-2011)
• An Egyptian writer who obtained BA in philosophy in 1947
• He wrote more than 170 books
• His famous title was Around the World in 200 days documented his travel
experiences in the early 1960s
 Nawal El Saadawi
• Has written books on the subject of women in Islam
• She has been described as the Simone de Beauvoir of the Arab World
• She has held the position of Author for the Supreme Council for Arts and
Social Sciences
 Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi
• He was a popular Egyptian poet and later a children’s book writer
• He was one of a generation who favored to write their work in Egyptian
dialect
 Salah Jahin
• Was a leading Egyptian poet
• His famous work was Ruba’iyat in which he expressed his beliefs,
emotions and views of life, existence, good and evil.
• He also wrote ‘Ala esm Masr’ or ‘In Egypt’s name’, an epic poem
narrating the history of Egypt from pharaoic era till present
 In Egypt’s Name
“History may say what it wishes in Egypt’s name
Egypt, for me, is the most beloved and most beautiful of things
I love her when she owns the earth, east and west.
And I love her when she is down, wounded in a battle.
I love her fiercely, gently and with modesty.
I hate her and curse her with then passion of lovesick.
I leave her and flee down one path, and she remains in another.
She turns to find me beside her in misfortune.
My veins pulsating with a thousand tunes and rhythm
In Egypt’s name.”
 Ahmed Fouad Negm
• He was born in Shargia, Egypt
• Was an Egyptian vernacular poet
 Hafea Ibrahim
• Was a well known Egyptian poet of the 20th century
• He was dubbed “The Poet of the Nile” and sometimes “The Poet of the
People”
• His poems took on the concerns of the majority of ordinary Egyprtians,
incuding women’s rights, poverty, education, as well as the criticism of
the British Empire and foreign occupation
• He was one of the several Egyptian who revived Classical Arabic poetry
AVISALA
MAESTE!