Ya'qub Bilbul
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Ya'qub Bilbul (, , also transliterated Jacob Bilbul and Ya'coub Balbul; 1920–2003) was an
Iraqi Jew The history of the Jews in Iraq (, ', ; , ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity . Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities. The Jewish community in Mesopotamia, kn ...
ish writer.Ghareeb, 2004
p. 125
His literary works were published in
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 ...
, and he achieved recognition as early as 1936 after publishing an article in the Iraqi journal, ''Al-Hatif''.Bashkin, 2008
p. 187
Known for his naturalistic stories, he is considered one of the first writers of
social realist Social realism is work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers, filmmakers and some musicians that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures ...
fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...
in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
, and a pioneer of the Iraqi novel and short story.Moreh, 1988
p. 83
Clark in Suleiman and Muhawi, 2006
p. 186


Education

Bilbul studied in English at the Shammash and Alliance schools in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. He graduated in 1938 and continued on to study economics and business. After emigrating to
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
in 1951, he majored in law and economics at the
University of Tel Aviv Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and research of the ci ...
, graduating from there some five later.Berg, 1996
p. 35


Career

In 1938, Bilbul released his first collection of short stories.Rejwan, 2004
p. xvi
Entitled ''Al-Jamrah al-Ūla'' ("The first coal"), he described it as the only
belletristic () is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pej ...
book published in Iraq that year. In the introduction to the book, he writes of his desire for, "Iraq to unfurl the banner of literature," a statement interpreted by Nancy Berg as a declaration of his intent to form part of the
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
literary renaissance (known as the ''
nahda The Nahda (, meaning 'the Awakening'), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Arab Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arabs, Arab-populated regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Tunisia, ...
'').Berg, 1996, p. 38. Bilbul worked as a clerk in the
Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...
Chamber of Commerce, whose president between 1938 and 1945 was another poet, Meir Basri. He and Basri revived the ''
muwashshah ''Muwashshah'' ( ' ' girdled'; plural '; also ' 'girdling,' pl. ') is a strophic poetic form that developed in al-Andalus in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. The ', embodying the Iberian rhyme revolution, was the major Andalusi inno ...
at'', strophic forms of poetry that were popular in
Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
. Between 1945 and 1951, Bilbul edited the Chamber's monthly journal and wrote its annual report. He wrote literary articles, as well as articles on economics and business which were published in Iraq and
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. Both Basri and Bilbul also wrote Shakespearean sonnets. One of Bilbul's most popular short stories was ''Sura Tibq al-Asl'', which is included in many
anthologies In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and ge ...
. Expressive of the school of
social realism Social realism is work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers, filmmakers and some musicians that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures ...
, of which he was considered a pioneer, it tells the story of a
midwife A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and Infant, newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughou ...
called to confirm the pregnancy of a young woman who is then murdered by her brother to restore the family's honor. The story is critical of the traditional practice of
honor killings Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as valo ...
.Berg, p. 36. It is the only story known to have been subject to pre-publication editing in Iraq, where such a practice was wholly uncommon. After two Muslim brothers who worked at the printing press expressed being offended by the assigning of obviously Muslim names to the two primitive and cruel characters in the book, while the midwife was given a common Jewish name, Bilbul changed all the names to more neutral ones to please his friends.Berg, 1996, p. 62. Reflective of his desire to present authentic accounts and to reach the masses, much of the dialogue in Bilbul's stories was written in
colloquial Arabic Varieties of Arabic (or dialects or vernaculars) are the linguistic systems that Arabic speakers speak natively. Arabic is a Semitic language within the Afroasiatic family that originated in the Arabian Peninsula. There are considerable variation ...
. Praised for his short-story technique, focus and unity, and social realism, he was also criticized for naivete, lack of originality, and weakness in characterization. He is nevertheless cited as one of the 21 most important novel and short story writers from the period between 1920 and 1955. Like other Jewish writers in Iraq in the 1930s and 1940s, his literary works were targeted toward a wide audience, were influenced by both Western and Islamic traditions, and he wrote not as a Jew, but as an Iraqi. He continued to write in Arabic after his emigration to Israel in 1951.Berg, 1996, p. 50.


References


Bibliography

*copy * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilbil, Yaqub 1920 births 2003 deaths Iraqi emigrants to Israel 20th-century Iraqi poets Iraqi Jews Jewish Israeli writers Jewish poets Social realism Tel Aviv University alumni Israeli male short story writers Israeli short story writers 20th-century Israeli poets 20th-century short story writers 21st-century Iraqi poets