Elias Farkouh
Encyclopedia
Elias Farkouh is a Jordanian short story writer and novelist. He was born in Amman
in 1948 and was educated in Amman and east Jerusalem
. He graduated from the Arab University of Beirut where he read philosophy and psychology. He worked as a journalist in the early part of his career. After working at the publishing house Al-Manarat, he set up his own house Dar Azminah in 1991 and runs it to this day.
Farkouh has published a number of short story collections and novels. His 2007 novel The Land of Purgatory was nominated for the inaugural Arabic Booker Prize, while his first novel Columns of Foam (1987) was selected as one of the 100 best Arabic novels of the 20th century by the Arab Writers' Union.
His short stories have been translated into English and appeared in Banipal
magazine. He has also translated Western literary works into Arabic, notably a book of short stories by Latin American women writers that was published in 1999.
Farkouh has won a number of Jordanian awards for his contributions to literature, including the State Meritorious Award (1997) and the Mahmud Sayf Ed-Din Irani Award, presented by the Jordanian Writers' Association.
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
in 1948 and was educated in Amman and east Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
. He graduated from the Arab University of Beirut where he read philosophy and psychology. He worked as a journalist in the early part of his career. After working at the publishing house Al-Manarat, he set up his own house Dar Azminah in 1991 and runs it to this day.
Farkouh has published a number of short story collections and novels. His 2007 novel The Land of Purgatory was nominated for the inaugural Arabic Booker Prize, while his first novel Columns of Foam (1987) was selected as one of the 100 best Arabic novels of the 20th century by the Arab Writers' Union.
His short stories have been translated into English and appeared in Banipal
Banipal
Banipal is an independent literary magazine dedicated to the promotion of contemporary Arab literature through translations in English. It was founded in London in 1998 by Margaret Obank and Samuel Shimon. The magazine is published three times a year...
magazine. He has also translated Western literary works into Arabic, notably a book of short stories by Latin American women writers that was published in 1999.
Farkouh has won a number of Jordanian awards for his contributions to literature, including the State Meritorious Award (1997) and the Mahmud Sayf Ed-Din Irani Award, presented by the Jordanian Writers' Association.
Short story collections
- Al-Saf'a (The Slap)
- Tuyour Amman Tuhalliq Munkhafida (Amman's Birds Sweep Low) (1981)
- Ihda wa Eshrouna Talqa lil-Nabeyy (Twenty One Shots for the Prophet) (1982, winner of the 1982 Jordanian Writers' Association Award)
- Huqoul Al-Zilal (Fields of Shadows) (2002)
Novels
- Qamat al-zabad (Columns of Foam) (1987)
- Aamidat al-ghoubar (Pillars of Dust) (1996)
- Ard al-yambous (The Land of Purgatory) (2007, winner of the 2008 Jordanian Writers' Association Award)