Somaya Yehia Ramadan is an Egyptian academic, translator and writer.[1] She was born in Cairo in 1951 and studied English at Cairo University. Subsequently, she obtained a PhD in English from Trinity College, Dublin in 1983. Somaya Ramadan is an Egyptian Baha'i who has written a book expounding on the principles of the faith published by Madbouli to clarify and correct the misunderstandings amongst many who have not been informed from the correct sources.[2]

Somaya Yehia Ramadan
Born1951 (age 72–73)
Cairo, Egypt
Alma materCairo University, Trinity College, Dublin
Notable workLeaves of Narcissus
AwardsNaguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature

Ramadan's first two books were short story collections: Khashab wa Nohass (Brass and Wood, 1995) and Manazel el-Kamar (Phases of the Moon, 1999). Her first novel Awraq Al-Nargis (Leaves of Narcissus) was published to great acclaim in 2001 and won the Naguib Mahfouz Medal. It was then translated into English by Marilyn Booth and is available from the AUC Press.

Ramadan has also worked extensively as a translator. Among her notable translations is Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own. She is a founding member of the Women and Memory Forum, a non-profit organisation, and teaches English and Translation at the National Academy of Arts in Cairo.

Biography edit

Ramadan was born in 1951 in Cairo, Egypt.[3] In 2001, her novel Leaves of Narcissus won the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature.[3]

Literary works edit

Ramadan's works include:[4]

  • Leaves of Narcissus[5]
  • Ṭarīq al-mustaqbal : ruʼyah Bahāʼīyah'
  • Khashab wa-nuḥās[6]
  • Manazil al-qamar[6]

Bibliography edit

  • Muhammad Birairi (2002). "فعل الكتابة وسؤال الوجود: قراءة في أوراق سمية رمضان النرجسية / Writing and Being: A Reading of Somaya Ramadan's Leaves of Narcissus" [Writing and Being: A Reading of Somaya Ramadan's Leaves of Narcissus]. Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics (22). Cairo: The American University in Cairo: 94–113. doi:10.2307/1350064. JSTOR 1350064. Retrieved 30 October 2020.

References edit

  1. ^ Author profile in the English PEN World Atlas Archived 2011-10-06 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Lucy Provan (October 14, 2012). "Bahaʼis in Egypt - The 25 January revolution gave everyone hope for change, and the Bahaʼi hope for acceptance". Daily News Egypt. Egypt. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Johnson-Davies, Denys, ed. (31 March 2010). "Somaya Ramadan". The Anchor Book of Modern Arabic Fiction (2010 ed.). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 356. ISBN 9780307481481.
  4. ^ Works of Somaya Ramadan at WorldCat, retrieved 31 October 2020
  5. ^ Muhammad Birairi (2002). "فعل الكتابة وسؤال الوجود: قراءة في أوراق سمية رمضان النرجسية / Writing and Being: A Reading of Somaya Ramadan's Leaves of Narcissus" [Writing and Being: A Reading of Somaya Ramadan's Leaves of Narcissus]. Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics (22). Cairo: 94–113. doi:10.2307/1350064. JSTOR 1350064. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b Hasna Reda-Mekdashi (2008). Arab Women Writers A Critical Reference Guide, 1873-1999. American University in Cairo Press. p. 143. ISBN 9789774161469. Retrieved 30 October 2020.

External links edit