Tawfiq al-Hakim
Bio
Tawfiq al-Hakim (1898-1987) is considered one of the most significant figures in twentieth-century Arabic literature, and Return of the Spirit one of Egypt's most important novels. Al-Hakim is also known as the founder of modern Egyptian drama.Alaa Al Aswany is the author of The Yacoubian Building, which was long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2006 and was the best-selling novel in the Arab world for more than five years; Chicago, named by Newsday as the best translated novel of 2006; The Automobile Club of Egypt; and the story collection Friendly Fire. He has received numerous awards internationally, including the Bashrahil Prize for the Arabic novel, the Kavafis Award from Greece, and the Premio Grinzane Cavour from Italy. He was recently named by the London Times as one of the best fifty authors to have been translated into English over the plast fifty years.
William Maynard Hutchins is renowned for his translations of Tawfiq al-Hakim's work, as well as of Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy and the novels of Fadhil al-Azzawi, Ibrahim al-Koni, Hassan Nasr, and others. He is also author of Tawfiq al-Hakim: A Reader's Guide. He is professor of Islamic and religious studies at Appalachian State University.