This week in NYC, visit the MoMA for a glut of Naguib Mahfouz movies. They’re showing eight different Mahfouz-inspired films from Egypt and Mexico, the earliest being Darb al Mahabil (1955) and the most recent El callejón de los milagros (1995)…. Read More ›
Naguib Mahfouz
Can You Ace the Mahfouz Quiz?
For those who are still celebrating Mahfouz’s 100th birthday, I have an eight-question quiz over at Al Masry Al Youm/Egypt Independent, and, at Your Middle East, a review of The Essential Naguib Mahfouz, ed. Denys Johnson-Davies, among other things. The first quiz question:… Read More ›
How I Met Naguib Mahfouz: ‘He’s Always Been in My Life’
Guest post by Gada Mahfud Dhiem Cairo, Egypt is where my father got his Agriculture BSc from Cairo University. My Father was lucky enough to be in Cairo at the golden age of Arabic literature, and I envy him the… Read More ›
Sotheby’s Withdraws Mahfouz Archive from Today’s Auction
For those who have not looked below, please note that Sotheby’s issued this statement last night: “While it is clear that Sotheby’s consignor had purchased the Mahfouz manuscripts from a member of Naguib Mahfouz’s family, other family members have within… Read More ›
Q&A with Naguib Mahfouz Biographer Raymond Stock: On the Author’s Life, Archives
This is a follow-up to 5 Thoughts from Raymond Stock on Translating the Master. Stock, who has been working on a biography of Naguib Mahfouz, expressed an interest in publishing today to air his knowledge about and connection with the contested Mahfouz archives…. Read More ›
Questions about Mahfouz Archives Up for Auction
UPDATE: Sotheby’s has withdrawn the Mahfouz materials from tomorrow’s auction. They issued this statement: “While it is clear that Sotheby’s consignor had purchased the Mahfouz manuscripts from a member of Naguib Mahfouz’s family, other family members have within the last hour… Read More ›
Naguib Mahfouz Medal Award in Pictures
My write-up of the event is in Al Masry Al Youm. To sum up: The big surprise was that the Naguib Mahfouz Medal award went to “the revolutionary creativity of the Egyptian people” rather than to a novelist. Although this didn’t seem… Read More ›
Sotheby’s to Auction Mahfouz Archives, Including Unpublished Material
Sotheby’s in London is scheduled to auction off what it’s calling “a major cache of manuscripts by Naguib Mahfouz.” The archive, being estimated at £50,000 – £70,000, is set to be sold on Dec. 15, four days after the great… Read More ›
‘How I Met Mahfouz’ and Found the Doorway to (Real) Arab Lit
Naila Kelani, a Libyan-American aspiring writer now studying in the UAE, blogs at Finjan Gahwa. She shares about her relationship with the work of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz—and the doors it opened—as his 100th approaches. I met Mahfouz at a… Read More ›
5 Questions with Catherine Cobham on Translation Mahfouz’s ‘Harafish’
Catherine Cobham has translated a number of significant Arab authors: Yusuf Idris, Hanan al-Shaykh, Nawal al-Saadawi, and Mahmoud Darwish. She is also the translator of one of Mahfouz’s greatest works, The Harafish, published in English in 1994. ArabLit: If you… Read More ›
How I Met Mahfouz: Down ‘Midaq Alley’ in ’77
You can read more from writer, reader, farmer, blogger Maryanne Stroud Gabbani at her blog, Living in Egypt. On her relationship with Mahfouz: I’ve been a bookworm since the day I learned to read and one of my fondest memories… Read More ›
Meeting Mahfouz: An Evening at the Nadwa
Margaret Litvin is assistant professor of Arabic and comparative literature at Boston University and author of Hamlet’s Arab Journey. She met Naguib Mahfouz in 2001 along with scholar and critic Robyn Creswell; you can read Creswell’s account of the evening on… Read More ›