Hala Ghoneim & Ahmed Fu'ad Nigm

Walking in Author's Tracks: Translating Ahmed Fu'ad Nigm

Contributor's Notes

Hala Ghoneim is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and lecturer of Arabic at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Hala was born in Egypt where she earned her B.A. degree in English literature and translation from the University of Ain Shams, Cairo. Her area of specialization is Arabic and Anglophone African literature.

Ahmed Fu'ad Nigm is one of the most renowned vernacular Egyptian activist poets. His satire of the political leadership of post-independence Egypt has earned him many years in prison and a military trial. He is best known for the songs he wrote for his friend, Sheikh Imam, to sing after the 1967 defeat. Nigm writes anti-canonical poetry that crosses many political, social and linguistic lines.