Editor | Taha Hussein |
---|---|
Categories | Literature, Arts, Science |
Frequency | Monthly |
Founded | 1945 |
First issue | October 1945 |
Final issue | May 1948 |
Country | Egypt |
Based in | Cairo |
Language | Arabic |
Website |
nbn-resolving |
The Egyptian journal al-Katib al-misri ( Arabic: الكاتب المصري; DMG: al-Kātib al-miṣrī; English: "The Egyptian Writer") was published in Cairo monthly in the period 1945–1948. [1] It featured articles on literature, arts and science. Although its publisher was Jewish, the magazine did not emphasize this fact. [2] However, Taha Hussein, editor of the magazine, was accused of being part of the Zionist movement due to his post. [2]
Al-Katib al-misri was founded originally by the Egyptian Press and Publishing House owned by the Jewish Al Harari family who entrusted Taha Hussein with the management. [2] [3] The magazine was modelled on the French magazine Les Temps modernes. [4] The first issue appeared in October 1945. [2] The magazine published a total of 32 issues and was available in numerous Arab metropolises. [5] The last issue of al-Katib al-misri was dated May 1948. [2]
The focus of the journal was the publication of international literature and literary criticism, which were translated into Arabic and so helped to reach a broader readership. Both Arabic and non-Arabic art, literature and science were encouraged and a dialogue between Arabic and other languages should be established. [5] As one of the first post-war magazines, al-Katib al-misri also aimed to make its vision of the enlightenment accessible to all and to promote mutual cultural exchange. [6] "Literature should be lifted above all conflicts existing world-wide." [7]
Major contributors included Mahmud Taymur, Tawfiq Al Hakim, Mohammed Mahdi Al Jawahiri, Yahya Haqqi and Luwis Awad. [2] Arabic translations among others, of works by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry or Jean-Paul Sartre, [6] were published, texts of promising new Arab authors [8] as well as literary criticism, which also offered an introduction by Western authors such as James Joyce or Franz Kafka. [9]
Moreover, two other sections also discussed in detail the contents and orientations of Arabic and European periodicals of the time. [8] In 1948, the publication of the magazine was stopped, [4] whereby it is not clear whether this was spontaneous or under governmental pressure. [9]