Nael Eltoukhy Explained

Nael Eltoukhy (born 1978) is an Egyptian author, columnist and translator. Eltoukhy has published two novellas and three novels in Arabic, including Al Alfen wa seta (Two Thousand and Six, 2009) and Nisaa Al Karantina (Women of Karantina, 2013,) which Mahmoud El-Wardani called "a new twist in the evolution of the form of the Egyptian novel itself."[1] The latter has been translated into English by Robin Moger,[2] who also translated an extract of Eltoukhy's third novel, Out of the Gutter (2018).[3] Eltoukhy has also translated two books from Hebrew to Arabic, while his columns and short stories have appeared in the New York Times,[4] Mada Masr,[5] Al-Safir,[6] among others.

Early life and education

Eltoukhy was born in Kuwait, and studied Hebrew at Ain Shams University.

Translations of Hebrew

Eltoukhy's passion for Hebrew is “rare” by his own admission, among students of the language in Arab universities. He was curious about Hebrew because he felt Arabs didn't know anything about Israel from the inside.[7] However, earlier on Eltoukhy had wanted to study English, but his grades were not high enough, so he chose to study Hebrew instead.[8]

Eltoukhy went on to translate provocative Israeli authors, such as late playwright Hanoch Levin, who Eltoukhy mentions as his dream, as well as Idith Zertal’s Israel’s Holocaust and the Politics of Nationhood, and Almog Behar's Chahla ve-Hezkel (Rachel and Ezekiel).[9]

According to Eltoukhy, it is easy to publish Hebrew to Arabic translations in Egypt, however the problem lies with publishers not wanting to pay royalties to an Israeli publisher as it would be seen as a form of normalization. Therefore, he has worked with younger authors that are willing to give up their royalties to circumvent the politics.

External links

Nael Eltoukhy personal blog (includes an archive of published articles)

Hakaza tahadath Cohen (Thus spoke Cohen), Collection of writings translated from Hebrew to Arabic. Mada Masr - contributions in English and Arabic

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2013-05-26 . Book review: The secret world of Alexandria . Ahram Online.
  2. Web site: Anderson . Porter . 2023-01-12 . Translators Moger, Davies Win England's Banipal Prize . 2023-11-27 . Publishing Perspectives . en-US.
  3. Web site: What Everybody Knows . 2023-11-28 . The White Review . en-US.
  4. News: Eltoukhy . Nael . 2017-06-08 . The Arab Epics of 1967 . The New York Times .
  5. Web site: Contributor - Nael Eltoukhy . Mada Masr.
  6. Web site: Nael Eltoukhy . https://web.archive.org/web/20180207065510/http://arabi.assafir.com/Channel.aspx?ChannelID=25&AuthorID=327&AuthorPage=1&LangID=1025 . 2018-02-07 . Al-Safir.
  7. Web site: 2012-12-29 . Nael El Toukhy: a post-modern novelist’s eye on Egypt . 2023-12-23 . Radio Open Source . en-US.
  8. Web site: 2016-03-03 . An Interview with Translator/Novelist Nael ElToukhy . 2023-12-23 . Asymptote . en.
  9. Web site: ALMOG BEHAR Poetry is Guilty (translation by Shoshana Olidort) . 2023-12-23 . www.poetrynw.org.