Ihsan Abdel Quddous إحسان عبد القدوس | |
|---|---|
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| Born | (1919-01-01)1 January 1919 |
| Died | 11 January 1990(1990-01-11) (aged 71) |
| Nationality | Egyptian |
| Occupation(s) | Novelist,writer,journalist |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Mohamed Abdel Quddous Rose al Yusuf |
Ihsan Abdel Quddous (Egyptian Arabic:إحسان عبد القدوسʼIḥsān ʻAbd el-ʼuddūs,IPA:[ʔeħˈsæːnʕæbdel.ʔʊdˈduːs]) (1 January 1919 – 11 January 1990)[1] was an Egyptianwriter,novelist, andjournalist and editor in Egypt'sAl Akhbar andAl-Ahram newspapers. He wrote many novels that were adapted into films, and served as editor for many years of the literary journalRose al-Yūsuf.[2]
Abdel Quddous was born inCairo,Egypt, to an Egyptian father fromGharbia Governorate, Mohamed Abd El-Quddous, and Lebanese journalistRose al Yusuf. His favorite hobby as a child wasreading. At the age of eleven, he started writing short stories and classical poems.[3] His father,Mohamed Abdel Quddous, anEgyptiantheater and film actor, motivated him to pursue a career inlaw. Ihsan graduated fromlaw school in 1942 and worked as alawyer. He was, at the beginning of his career, a trainee for the law firm of Edward Qussairi, a famous Egyptian lawyer.[3] He was also aneditor inRose al Youssef, a weeklymagazine that his mother Fatima al Youssef (akaRose al Yusuf) had founded.[4][5][6][7]
In 1944, he started writingfilm scripts, short stories, andnovels. He later left his law career to focus on his literary career. A few years later, he became a distinguished journalist in theAl Akhbar newspaper, where he worked for eight years. He then worked in theAl-Ahram newspaper and became itseditor-in-chief. He often criticized important personalities, which got him imprisoned three times throughout his journalism career.[3][4][5][6][7]
Ihsan regarded women as symbols of sacrifice in the Egyptian society which was why women were the central theme of his literary works. His works influentially contributed to bring change in the conventional concepts in Egypt.[3] Contrary to his literary works, he was a very conservative person. He was known to have a resisting personality and had been a strict husband and father in his house. He wrote more than 60 novels and collections of short stories. Of his novels, five were dramatized, nine were used asradio series scripts, ten had televisionminiseries adaptations, and 49 hadfilm adaptations, such asSleepless (1957),I Am Free (1959),There is a Man in our House (1961),My Wife's Dignity (1967),Empire M (1972),Where Is My Mind? (1974)andI'm Not Lying But I'm Beautifying (1981). His works have been translated to several foreign languages including the English, French, German,Ukrainian, andChinese languages. Ihsan also co-founded the Egyptian Story Club.[4][5][6][7]
He drew inspiration for his epistolary Arabic novel,La anam (translated into English asI Do Not Sleep) from editing letters sent by advice-seeking readers to the journalRuz al-Yusuf.[2][8]
His son Mohamed Ihsan Abdel Quddous is a journalist.[citation needed]
One of Ihsan's first articles was an attack on the British AmbassadorMiles Lampson (Lord Killearn). He won early fame by writing articles exposing the government's role in providing the troops with defective arms during the Palestine War for which he was imprisoned. Ihsan was jailed again in 1954 after writing an article, titled the secret society that rules Egypt "al-jam'iyya al-sir-riyya al-lati tahkum Misr," that revealed Nasser's machinations in the March Crisis.[9][full citation needed]
Ihsan Abdel Quddous died on 12 January 1990 after suffering a stroke.[4][5][6][7]
Ihsan Abdel Quddous received his first award for writing the novelMy Blood, My Tears, My Smile in 1973. Two years later, in 1975, he received a Best Screenplay award for his novelThe Bullet Is Still in my Pocket. He was honored by the former Egyptian presidentGamal Abdel Nasser with anOrder of Merit of the First Class. Shortly after his death in 1990, the incumbent Egyptian presidentHosni Mubarak honored him with anOrder of the Republic of the First Class.[3]
