Miral al-Tahawy
Encyclopedia
Miral al-Tahawy is an award-winning Egyptian
novelist and short story writer. She comes from a conservative Bedouin
background and is regarded as a pioneering literary figure. The Washington Post has described her as "the first novelist to present Egyptian Bedouin life beyond stereotypes and to illustrate the crises of Bedouin women and their urge to break free."
from Zagazig University
, and then worked as a schoolteacher which allowed her to avoid early marriage. She then continued her education at Cairo University
, moving to the city at the age of 26. This brought her into direct conflict with her family, and she also went through a diffiult period of adjustment in the capital. Notwithstanding, she eventually earned a Masters and a PhD from Cairo University, and learnt several languages: classical Arabic
, Hebrew, Persian
, Urdu
and English.
Al-Tahawy published her first book, a collection of short stories, in 1995. She was signed up by Hosni Soliman, owner of Dar Sharqiyyat and publisher of some of the most critically acclaimed Egyptian literature of the 1990s. Her first novel Al-Khibaa (The Tent) came out in 1996, followed by Al-Badhingana al-zarqa (The Blue Aubergine) and Naquarat al-Zibae (Gazelle Tracks).
In 2007, al-Tahawy moved to the United States
. She served as an assistant professor in the foreign languages department at Appalachian State University
in North Carolina
. She was also the director of their Arabic programme.
Al-Tahawy's most recent book Brooklyn Heights has met with considerable critical success. It won the 2010 Naguib Mahfouz Medal and was also nominated for the 2011 Arabic Booker Prize.
Her work has appeared in two issues of Banipal
magazine (2002, 2007). She has also been translated into several languages including German
, Italian, Spanish
, Dutch, Danish
, Norwegian, Urdu
and Hindi
.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
novelist and short story writer. She comes from a conservative Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
background and is regarded as a pioneering literary figure. The Washington Post has described her as "the first novelist to present Egyptian Bedouin life beyond stereotypes and to illustrate the crises of Bedouin women and their urge to break free."
Biography
She was born in 1968 in a village in the Sharqia Governorate in the eastern Nile delta. Her Bedouin family belongs to the al-Hanadi tribe. Al-Tahawy is the youngest of seven children. She has stated that her progressive-thinking father was responsible for her obtaining an education, in spite of the constraints of traditional Bedouin society especially on women. She gained a BA in Arabic literatureArabic literature
Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is adab which is derived from a meaning of etiquette, and implies politeness, culture and enrichment....
from Zagazig University
Zagazig University
Zagazig University is an Egyptian university in the city of Zagazig, the capital of Ash Sharqiyah governorate.The current president of the university is Professor Dr Maher El-Domiaty.- Faculties :*Faculty of Pharmacy’’’ كلية الصيدلة’’’....
, and then worked as a schoolteacher which allowed her to avoid early marriage. She then continued her education at Cairo University
Cairo University
Cairo University is a public university located in Giza, Egypt.The university was founded on December 21, 1908, as the result of an effort to establish a national center for educational thought...
, moving to the city at the age of 26. This brought her into direct conflict with her family, and she also went through a diffiult period of adjustment in the capital. Notwithstanding, she eventually earned a Masters and a PhD from Cairo University, and learnt several languages: classical Arabic
Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
, Hebrew, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
and English.
Al-Tahawy published her first book, a collection of short stories, in 1995. She was signed up by Hosni Soliman, owner of Dar Sharqiyyat and publisher of some of the most critically acclaimed Egyptian literature of the 1990s. Her first novel Al-Khibaa (The Tent) came out in 1996, followed by Al-Badhingana al-zarqa (The Blue Aubergine) and Naquarat al-Zibae (Gazelle Tracks).
In 2007, al-Tahawy moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. She served as an assistant professor in the foreign languages department at Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. She was also the director of their Arabic programme.
Al-Tahawy's most recent book Brooklyn Heights has met with considerable critical success. It won the 2010 Naguib Mahfouz Medal and was also nominated for the 2011 Arabic Booker Prize.
Her work has appeared in two issues of 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 (2002, 2007). She has also been translated into several languages including German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Italian, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Dutch, Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
, Norwegian, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
and Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
.
Works
- The Tent, translated by Anthony CalderbankAnthony CalderbankAnthony Calderbank is an English translator of contemporary Arabic literature. He was educated at Manchester University where he studied Arabic and Persian. He lived in Egypt for several years in the mid-1980s, making his home in the Cairo neighbourhood of Shubra...
- The Blue Aubergine, translated by Anthony Calderbank
- Gazelle Tracks, translated by Anthony Calderbank
- Brooklyn Heights, translated by Samah SelimSamah SelimSamah Selim is an Egyptian scholar and translator of Arabic literature. She studied English literature at Barnard College, and obtained her PhD from Columbia University in 1997. At present she is an assistant professor at Rutgers University...