Many Lives of Ibrahim Nagui

Samia Mehrez (Author) is professor emerita of Arabic literature in the Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations and founder of the Center for Translation Studies at the American University in Cairo (2009–2021). She is the author of Egyptian Writers between History and Fiction (AUC Press, 1994) and Egypt's Culture Wars (2008), and the editor of The Literary Atlas of Cairo, The Literary Life of Cairo, and Translating Egypt’s Revolution: The Language of Tahrir (AUC Press, 2010, 2011, 2012).Eleanor Ellis (Translated by) is an Arabic-English translator. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University.

“Samia Mehrez, with a brief nod to the austere Ibrahim Nagui of record, reveals the passionate, questing, idealist poet-physician in all his human complexity. A lovingly forensic exploration of the grandfather she never knew—and a gift to us, his readers.”—Ahdaf Soueif, author of The Map of Love"Samia Mehrez shatters the oversized, too-perfect image of her famous poet-physician grandfather, giving us a lesson in how to craft a portrait of a real person with dry humor and clear eyes. Beautifully translated by Eleanor Ellis."—Marcia Lynx Qualey, ArabLit"This intimate portrait of an iconic Egyptian poet by his granddaughter is a genre-bending text of critical brilliance, combining biography, autobiography, translation studies, textual criticism, and archival documents, as well as delineating a cultural history of twentieth-century Egypt."—Ferial Ghazoul, The American University in Cairo“Contemplating a portrait of her grandfather, Samia Mehrez proceeds to assemble the fragments of his life and in the process to discover her own growing affinities with him. An enchanting and unique foray into interpersonal biography.”—Tarif Khalidi, American University of Beirut"A wonderful book that represents an important contribution to the work of Samia Mehrez, who has previously published in the fields of literary criticism and translation studies.”—Sonallah Ibrahim, author of Warda"Nagui’s culminating image is so intimate, so dazzling in its multi-dimensionality that he comes to life in 3-D. The success here is dual, because as one main character unravels before our eyes, so does the other. As Mehrez crosses the final boundary with Nagui, he exits the picture frame."—Jadaliyya

• AcknowledgmentsChapter 1: “What is Dr. Nagui Doing Here?”Chapter 2: 1 Hassouna al-Nawawy StreetChapter 3: All That RemainsChapter 4: Houma and SoumaChapter 5: From N. to A.Chapter 6: Journal de vieChapter 7: Ibrahim Nagui SuperstarChapter 8: My Friend ShakespeareChapter 9: The Family DoctorChapter 10: FarewellNotesAppendix: al-Atlal/The Ruins