Naguib Mahfuz - Nobel Prize Winner - Age 94
The world lost a true literary giant today. Naguib Mahfuz, winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize for literature, died today at the age of 94.
Mahfuz may best be known for his writings about ordinary people - butchers, bakers, candlestick makers, etc - dealing with the modernization of Cairo in the 20th Century. For that reason he was sometimes referred to as the "Dickens of modern Cairo". But that did not prevent him from delving into topics such as life under the Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (or Akhenaten), and a stunning retelling of tales from the Arabian Nights. Mr. Mahfouz "wrote 33 novels, 13 anthologies of short stories, several plays and 30 screenplays." The Swedish Academy of Letters referred to Mr. Mahfuz' works as “an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind.”
Mahfuz was an artist of language, and the page was his canvas. His writings sparkled off the page, every word perfectly chosen and carefully timed: each a bejeweled jigsaw piece, carefully interlocking with the puzzle pieces around it.
Mahfuz was the first arab to win the Nobel Prize and he is recognized for applying Arabic's poetic traditions to make the modern novel accessible in that language. Brad Kessler wrote in a 1990 article for The New York Times Magazine: “Mahfouz writes in the florid classical Arabic, which is roughly the equivalent of Shakespearean English.”
If you've never read anything by Mahfuz, I recommend "The Harafish." for its particular beauty and its well-limned characters, or his masterwork: The Cairo Trilogy — “Palace Walk,” “Palace of Desire” and “Sugar Street — the story of three generations of a middle-class Cairo family, from World War I through the 1952 coup that overthrew King Farouk.
Mahfuz was a supporter of peace in a secular world. His support for Egypt's peace treaty with Israel, and his secular humanist approach earned him the ire of Egyptian fundamentalist muslims. Fundamentalists were responsible for a 1994 attack that nearly ended his life.
An important voice for sanity in the Mideast has been lost.
The New York Times obituary is located at Naguib Mahfouz, First Writer in Arabic to Win Nobel Prize, Dies at 94
Mahfuz may best be known for his writings about ordinary people - butchers, bakers, candlestick makers, etc - dealing with the modernization of Cairo in the 20th Century. For that reason he was sometimes referred to as the "Dickens of modern Cairo". But that did not prevent him from delving into topics such as life under the Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (or Akhenaten), and a stunning retelling of tales from the Arabian Nights. Mr. Mahfouz "wrote 33 novels, 13 anthologies of short stories, several plays and 30 screenplays." The Swedish Academy of Letters referred to Mr. Mahfuz' works as “an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind.”
Mahfuz was an artist of language, and the page was his canvas. His writings sparkled off the page, every word perfectly chosen and carefully timed: each a bejeweled jigsaw piece, carefully interlocking with the puzzle pieces around it.
Mahfuz was the first arab to win the Nobel Prize and he is recognized for applying Arabic's poetic traditions to make the modern novel accessible in that language. Brad Kessler wrote in a 1990 article for The New York Times Magazine: “Mahfouz writes in the florid classical Arabic, which is roughly the equivalent of Shakespearean English.”
If you've never read anything by Mahfuz, I recommend "The Harafish." for its particular beauty and its well-limned characters, or his masterwork: The Cairo Trilogy — “Palace Walk,” “Palace of Desire” and “Sugar Street — the story of three generations of a middle-class Cairo family, from World War I through the 1952 coup that overthrew King Farouk.
Mahfuz was a supporter of peace in a secular world. His support for Egypt's peace treaty with Israel, and his secular humanist approach earned him the ire of Egyptian fundamentalist muslims. Fundamentalists were responsible for a 1994 attack that nearly ended his life.
An important voice for sanity in the Mideast has been lost.
The New York Times obituary is located at Naguib Mahfouz, First Writer in Arabic to Win Nobel Prize, Dies at 94
posted by BuddhistAttorney | 10:59 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home