A history of Arabic-language authors and the Nobel prize Tawfiq al-Hakim, Egyptian author and writer. Thus, it will likely be January 2070 before we hear about which writers' works went head-to-head with Handke's.Īnd it’s only now, when the 1969 nominations have finally been made public, that we know the name of the second Arabic-language author ever nominated for the world’s most coveted literary prize: Egyptian playwright, novelist and essayist Tawfiq al-Hakim, who died at the age of 88 in 1987. Information about the Nobel nominations are kept sealed for 50 years after the prizes are awarded at a ceremony that takes place in Stockholm each December.

Although we know who won the 2019 prize – it went to Peter Handke, with Olga Tokarczuk belatedly announced as the 2018 winner – we don't know who else was on the shortlist, nor whether the Swedish Academy members argued about Handke's politics.

Al-Hakim has been called the father of the theater in Egypt and the Arab world and one of the founders of the art of the play, novel, and story in modern Arabic literature.Secrecy has long shrouded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Chamseddine, keen to preserve the style of Al-Hakim as a cynical, yet profound storyteller, utilized symbols to bring the reader to a conclusion touching the truth characterized within the story. Words were careful chosen to reflect the depth of the meanings Al-Hakim wished to convey to the reader’s mind and imagination, allowing English readers to enjoy these short stories as much as Arabic readers have done since the publication of the series of stories in 1953. Abdul Rahman Chamseddine has employed his linguistic abilities to convey the atmosphere of these stories as well as the mysteries, charm, and symbolism they contain to English-speaking readers through a smooth and accurate translation.

The stories are examples of Al-Hakim’s ability to unleash his imagination to bring the reader to awareness and certainty. This translated collection “Show Me God”, originally written by playwright Tawfiq al-Hakim, includes twenty short stories that combine a curious, elegant, and mysterious exposition of the human psyche and its philosophical, symbolic, and intriguing issues and inclinations. Center for International and Regional Studies.Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS).

أهل الكهف by Tawfiq Al-Hakim