Muhammad Mandur (1907-1965) was an Egyptian literary critic. His criticism evolved to place an increasing emphasis on social engagement. As well as his own work, Mandur translated work by

Georges Duhamel Georges Duhamel (; ; 30 June 1884 – 13 April 1966) was a French author, born in Paris. Duhamel trained as a doctor, and during World War I was attached to the French Army. In 1920, he published '' Confession de minuit'', the first of a serie ...

, Alfred de Musset,

Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

and others from French to

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

Life

Born in the Egyptian Delta, Muhammad Mandur attended secondary school in

Tanta Tanta ( ar, طنطا ' , ) is a city in Egypt with the country's fifth largest populated area and 658,798 inhabitants as of 2018. Tanta is located between Cairo and Alexandria: north of Cairo and southeast of Alexandria. The capital of Gharbia ...

before reading literature and law at the

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

. He was influenced by Taha Husayn, who helped him gain in 1930 a scholarship for further study in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

; In 1939 he returned to Egypt and was appointed a lecturer at the

University of Cairo Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

. In 1942 he was appointed to the literary faculty of the new

University of Alexandria Alexandria University ( ar, جامعة الإسكندرية) is a public university in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1938 as a satellite of Fouad University (the name of which was later changed to Cairo University), becoming an indepen ...

, and in 1943 he completed his doctorate with

Ahmad Amin Ahmad Amin (Arabic: أحمد أمين), (1954-1886) was an Egyptian historian and writer. He wrote a series of books on the history of the Islamic civilization (1928–1953), a famous autobiography (''My Life'', 1950), as well as an important ...

as supervisor. Denied academic promotion, Mandur resigned his university post in 1944 and became an editor of the

Wafdist The New Wafd Party ( ar, حزب الوفد الجديد, , New Delegation Party), officially the Egyptian Wafd Party and also known as the Al-Wafd Party, is a nationalist liberal party in Egypt. It is the extension of one of the oldest and his ...

newspaper ''al-Misri''. Three months later he became chief editor of the party paper ''al-Wafd al-misri'', until it was charged with communism and shut down in 1946. Manduri becameeditor of another Wafdist daily, ''Sawt al-Umma''. Mandur registered as a barrister in 1948 and became an MP for the

Wafd Party The Wafd Party (; ar, حزب الوفد, ''Ḥizb al-Wafd'') was a nationalist liberal political party in Egypt. It was said to be Egypt's most popular and influential political party for a period from the end of World War I through the 1930 ...

in 1949. He also began teaching at the Institute of Dramaturgy, keeping this job after political parties were dissolved at the 1952 Revolution. In 1956 travelled in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. In 1962 Mandur was awarded the State Encouragement Prize for Literature. He died in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

on May 20, 1965.

Work

A book of essays, ''Fi'l-Mizan al-Jadid'' (1944) rapidly established Mandur's reputation as a critic of modern Arabic poetry. The book discussed the use of myth in poetry, and the tone and metres of Arabic poetry.

References

1907 births 1965 deaths Egyptian literary critics Egyptian translators Translators to Arabic Translators from French 20th-century translators Cairo University alumni Egyptian expatriates in France {{egypt-translator-stub