Ahmed Fouad Negm
Ahmed Fouad Negm (1929–2013) is one of the giants of Egyptian colloquial Arabic poetry. He is most famous for his political poems, especially his satires of the country’s ruling elites. Most audiences know his poetry through the songs of his collaborator, the singer-composer Sheikh Imam. Negm had the distinction of being imprisoned many times by Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak.
Reading List
Build Your Palaces (1973)
Translated from Egyptian Colloquial Arabic by Ahmed Hassan and Elliott Colla Build your palaces on top of farms! With our labor and the sweat of our hands, Build bars beside factories And prisons where gardens once stood! Unleash your dogs in the streets, And lock us in your cells. Deprive us of sleep (We’ve […]
The Eyes of Words (1970)
Translated from Egyptian Colloquial Arabic by Ahmed Hassan and Elliott Colla When the sun drowns In a sea of clouds, When a wave of darkness spreads across the world, When sight dies In the eye and conscience, When the road disappears Between lines and circles, You—rambler, roamer, Know-it-all— No one will guide you But […]