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,

Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...

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

and others from French to

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Life

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

Tanta Tanta ( ' ) is a city in Egypt. Tanta had a population of 658,798 in 2018, making it the fifth most populous city in Egypt. Tanta is located between Cairo and Alexandria: north of Cairo and southeast of Alexandria. The capital of Gharbia Gove ...

before reading literature and law at the

Cairo University Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...

. 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, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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

University of Cairo Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...

. In 1942 he was appointed to the literary faculty of the new University of Alexandria, 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 d ...

as supervisor. Denied academic promotion, Mandur resigned his university post in 1944 and became an editor of the Wafdist 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 (; , ''Ḥizb al-Wafd'') was a nationalist Liberalism, 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 1930s. During th ...

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

1952 Revolution The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état () and the 23 July Revolution (), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King ...

. In 1956 he travelled in

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

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

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 Translators to Arabic Translators from French 20th-century Egyptian translators Cairo University alumni Egyptian expatriates in France {{egypt-translator-stub