posted
Nobel prize winning writer Mahfuz admitted to hospital Published: Friday, 11 August, 2006, 01:26 PM Doha Time
CAIRO: World renowned Egyptian writer Nagib Mahfuz, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1988, has been admitted to hospital, a hospital official said yesterday. Mahfuz, 95, is suffering from kidney problems, pneumonia and other ailments relating to his age, said Muntassem Abdel Muti, spokesman at Cairo’s Police Hospital where he is being treated. He added that the novelist’s temperature and general condition had improved. Mahfuz had been admitted to the same hospital on July 16 after stumbling and injuring his head. Born in Cairo in 1911, Mahfuz is Egypt’s most celebrated intellectual with about 40 novels to his name. He began writing at the age of 17 and had his first novel published in 1939. A flurry of other novels followed but it was the Cairo trilogy - Between the Palaces, Palace of Longing, Sugarhouse - published between 1955 and 1957 that brought his name to the forefront of Arab literature. The books, depicting traditional urban life, tell of a family living through the first half of the century when Egypt went from British colonial rule to independence under a monarchy. Mahfuz studied philosophy at King Fuad I University (Cairo University), graduating in 1934 and working for a few years in the university’s administration. Nearly half of Mahfuz’s 40 or so novels have been made into films that have circulated throughout the Arabic-speaking world. He has also written more than 100 short stories, many of which have been translated into English. A lover of Cairo’s sprawling cafes, many of his works centre around life in the bustling city, bring out its the uniquely “Egyptian” character at a key historical period during which a national identity was being defined. In 1988, Mahfuz became the first Arab writer to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature, notably for the universal character of his art, which was considered a metaphor for relations between people in communities worldwide. Throughout his life, the author has been actively interested in politics, staunchly defending a spirit of tolerance and acceptance, a stance which brought controversy into his life. His novel, Children of Gebalawi, published in 1959, was banned by Egypt’s Islamic Al Azhar University for the disillusioned view it gave of religion. The book brought more trouble for him in the 1980s, when the fundamentalist Jihad group said Mahfuz should be killed for blasphemy over the book. The author narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in 1994 when a radical Islamist stabbed him with a knife. In a biography put out when he was named Nobel laureate, the Nobel Foundation said his second period of writing, starting with Children of Gebalawi, saw a “new vein that frequently concealed political judgements under allegory and symbolism. “Works of this period include the novels, The Thief and the Dogs (1961), Autumn Quail (1962), Small Talk on the Nile (1966) and Miramar (1967), as well as several collections of short stories.” Mahfuz also worked as a civil servant, including being director of censorship in the Bureau of Art, director of the Foundation for the Support of the Cinema, and then as a consultant to the culture ministry. Despite his moderate views on Israel and his defence of fellow artists sanctioned in Egypt for holding similar views, Mahfuz strongly supported the Palestinian cause. When he won the Nobel award, he divided the prize money in four equal parts: one for his wife, two for his daughters, while part of his share went to charities for the Palestinians. – AFP
Naguib Mahfouz is a much-loved writer in the Middle East
Egypt's Nobel Prize-winning writer Naguib Mahfouz is in intensive care at hospital in the capital, Cairo. Mahfouz, in his mid-90s, has been in hospital since a fall last month. He is said to be in an "unstable" condition.
His vibrant, colourful portrayal of capital in his Cairo Trilogy won the 1988 Nobel Prize for literature.
He has suffered health problems since being stabbed in the neck in 1994 by an Islamist extremist, angry at his portrayal of God in one of his novels.
After that incident, he was in hospital for seven weeks and suffered nerve damage in his neck, which limited his ability to write and caused his eyesight and hearing to deteriorate.
During his current stay in hospital, he was transferred to the intensive care unit on Monday night after suffering a sudden drop in blood pressure and kidney dysfunction, a hospital official told the Associated Press.
"Despite improvement to some vital signs... his condition remains unstable," the official said, citing the latest medical report.
The writer was taken to hospital in mid-July after he fell during a midnight stroll and sustained a deep head wound.
Naguib Mahfouz's Nobel Prize brought international recognition to a man already regarded in the Middle East as one of its best writers and premier intellectuals.
He has published more than 50 novels, short stories, plays, newspaper columns, essays, travelogues, memoirs and political analyses.
posted
That's sad news. I only just learnt about him and am part way through Palace Walk (what Between the Palaces is called in UK)
Posts: 5593 | From: Egypt | Registered: Dec 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
After reports from last week that Mr. Mahfuz's health is improving here the latest news:
Egyptian Nobel Laureate critical
Mona Fathi Special to The Gazette
Renowned Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz, 95, is in critical condition after he suffered bleeding for the second time yesterday, a medical source said.Mahfouz, admitted into the Police Hospital some two weeks ago, suffered drop in blood hemoglobin, added the source. Mahfouz is put back on an artificial respiration machine at the ICU
posted
He died today. The world lost one amazing writer but his work will live on....... Posts: 30135 | From: The owner of this website killed ES....... | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic