Yusuf Idris

Yusuf Idris was an influential Egyptian writer and playwright who broke with traditional Arabic literature by mixing colloquial dialect with conventional classical Arabic narration in the writing of realistic stories about ordinary villagers. He studied medicine at the University of Cairo and worked as a doctor in various hospitals. He was also a political activist who supported Nasser’s revolution but later became disillusioned and imprisoned for his opposition. He wrote several collections of short stories, such as The Cheapest Nights, The Sinners, and Rings of Burnished Brass, as well as novels, such as The Forbidden and The Sin. He also experimented with a new form of Arabic drama that incorporated elements of folk culture and shadow theatre, such as in his plays The Critical Moment, The Farfoors, and The Striped Ones. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988 and received several awards for his literary achievements. He died of a heart attack in London in 1991.