Modernism in the Middle East and Arab World
Exploring modernity and its intellectual trends in the Middle East is a very fitting endeavour, as ‘Middle East’ itself is a ‘modern’ term which has…
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al-Khāl, Yūsuf (1917–1987)
Yūsuf al-Khāl was a Lebanese poet and writer, born in 1917 in Syria. He graduated in 1944 from the Philosophy Department at the American University…
Qabbani, Nizar (نزار توفيق قباني) (1923-1998)
Nizar Qabbani (1923–98) was born in Damascus, Syria, into a merchant family. He studied law at Damascus University and then entered the Syrian diplomatic service,…
Al-Tahtawi, Rifa’a (1801–1873)
Rifa’a Rafi’ al-Tahtawi was an Egyptian reformer and thinker who is widely recognised as the pioneer of the Egyptian ‘Awakening’ (nahda) in the 19th century.…
Beydoun, Abbas (Bayḏūn, ʿAbbās) (1945--)
Abbas Beydoun is one of Lebanon’s most famous poets and writers, and one of the most outstanding and important intellectuals in the Arab world. He…
Zaydān, Jurjī (جرجي زيدان) (1861–1914)
Jurjī Zaydān was a Lebanese novelist, journalist, and scholar of the Nahḍa (‘awakening’), an intellectual current of the long nineteenth century for the renewal of…
al-Sayyāb, Badr Shākir (1926–1964)
Badr Shākir al-Sayyāb is the unrivalled champion of the Arab Free Verse movement. One of the most well-known poets of the twentieth century, he revolutionized…
Rifaat, Alifa (1930–1996)
Fatimah Abdullah Rifaat, born in Cairo on 5 June 1930, belonged to an Egyptian family of Turkish origin. She began to write in her youth,…
Tāmir, Zakariyyā (1931–)
Born in Damascus in 1931, Zakariyya Tāmir (Arabic زكريا تامر also transliterated Zakaria Tamer) is a renowned Syrian short-story writer, columnist, and the author of…
Yousef, Saadi (1934–)
Saadi Yousef is an Iraqi poet, author, journalist, and political activist. He has published 45 volumes of poetry, nine books of prose, several essays and…
al-Ḥājj, Unsī (1937–2014)
Unsī al-Ḥājj (1937–2014) was a Lebanese poet largely recognized as the pioneer of Arabic prose poems (qaṣīdat al-nathr) thanks to his renowned but controversial first…
Shawqi, Ahmad (احمد شوقي) (1868–1932)
Ahmad Shawqi was the leading poet and pioneer playwright of the neo-classical period of Arabic literature. Shawqi benefited from a secular education, which allowed him…
Tuqan, Fadwa (1917–2003)
This renowned Palestinian poet and activist was born to a rich and politically influential family in Nablus, a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank,…
Ṣalat al-Fann al-Ḥadith al-Ālamı (Art Moderne International) (established Damascus, Syria, 1960)
Ṣalat al-Fann al-Ḥadīth al-fiĀlamı (Gallery of International Modern Art, or Art Moderne International (AMI)) was the first private art gallery in Syria. Launched by brothers…
Selim, Jewad (1921–1961)
Born in Ankara, Turkey, Jewad Selim descended from an Iraqi family of artists. His father is Hajj Mohammad Selim, his sister Naziha Selim and brothers…
Turki, Zoubeïr (1924–2009)
Zoubeïr Turki was a Tunisian artist and illustrator. He studied at the Zaituna Mosque-University and received his artistic training at the École des Beaux-Arts in…
Cavafy, C. P. (1863–1933)
C. P. (Constantine Petrou Photiades) Cavafy, the youngest of seven brothers, was born in Alexandria, Egypt, where he spent most of his life working as…
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution refers to the events that occurred in 1908 under the initiative of the Committee of Union and Progress (İttihad ve Terakki…
Troy, Excavation of
The existence and geographical location of Troy, the legendary setting of the Trojan War described in Homer’s Iliad, received little attention until the nineteenth century.…
Castel-Bloom, Orly (1960--)
Born in Tel Aviv to Egyptian Jewish parents, the Hebrew author Orly Castel-Bloom studied film at the prestigious Beit-Zvi Institute and at Tel Aviv University…
al-Yāzijī, Nāṣīf (1800–1871)
Nāṣīf al-Yāzijī was a Lebanese writer and philologist who contributed to the Nahḍa (‘awakening’), an intellectual current in the long nineteenth century for the renewal…
Al-Adab (1953–2013)
The literary journal al-Adab was established in Beirut in 1953. This avant-garde journal was open to all forms of literary experimentation and to all views…
al-Shidyāq, Aḥmad Fāris (c.1805–1887)
Aḥmad Fāris al-Shidyāq was a Lebanese writer and journalist and one of the most provocative figures of the Nahḍa (‘awakening’), an intellectual current in the…
Al-Manfalouti, Mustafa Lutfi (1876–1924)
Mustafa Lutfi al-Manfalouti (1876–1924) is one of Egypt’s greatest modern prose writers and poets. He was born in the Upper Egyptian city of Manfalout to…
Al Said, Shakir Hassan (1925–2004)
Al Said was a prolific and influential artist. He was a founding member of the Baghdad Group for Modern Art (Jama’at Baghdad lil-fann al-hadith) in…