Archives | Authors | Sonallah Ibrahim

Sonallah Ibrahim Egypt    PWF 2013

Born in 1937 in Cairo, Sonallah Ibrahim has been called the Egyptian Kafka—the ideal anti-hero. “I never intended to be a writer—I wanted to become a political activist—but certain things must be communicated and expressed.”

From the start, Ibrahim—that rascal from Heliopolis—offered a critique of incipient globalism in his first book—hand-written in prison, using mercurochrome for ink, food boxes for a cover and bread paste to bind the spine.

A true contemporary—Ibrahim tells of corruption, financial scandals, torture, foreign debt, and social problems—at times, using newspaper headlines, articles, picture captions, death notices, and advertisements to illustrate his texts.

“At one time all these regimes had applied one unchanging means of persuasion to their people: imprisonment and torture. But diversification added other sophisticated methods, from termination to television to parliamentary councils.”

“Now everything has changed—the values—the priorities—the way of life.”

Ibrahim’s work includes: That Smell and Notes from Prison, The Committee, Zaat, Stealth, Beirut—Beirut, and Cairo from Edge to Edge.

Sonallah Ibrahim lives in Cairo.