Amal Abul-Qassem Donqol ( arz, أمل ابو القاسم دنقل, ; 1940 – 21 May 1983) was an Egyptian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

whose poems were influenced by

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, then pre- Islamic and Islamic imagery to modernize Arabic poetry. He was born in Al Qalah, Qfta,

Qena Qena ( ar, قنا ' , locally: ; cop, ⲕⲱⲛⲏ ''Konē'') is a city in Upper Egypt, and the capital of the Qena Governorate. Situated on the east bank of the Nile, it was known in antiquity as Kaine (Greek Καινή, meaning "new (city)"; ...

and completed his

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

there in 1957. He attended the

faculty of Arts A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

in 1958 just after his graduation from the secondary education stage. He dropped out to work as an employee at Qena Court of Justice as well as the Customs Department of Suez and

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

and the

Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organisation The Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organisation (AAPSO) is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the ideals of national liberation and Third World solidarity. The organization is based in Egypt and has around 26-50 staff. The ...

for a living before the end of his first year in the faculty. He died in 1983 after long-time illness.

Early life and education

Amal was born in Al Qalah village, Qfta, an administrative division of

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient E ...

on 23 June 1940. Amal was given his name, which means "hope" in Arabic and is commonly given to girls, because he was born in the very same year his father got his habilitation degree from al-Azhar University. Donqol's father, an al-Azhar graduate, who wrote classic poetry, possessed a library full of books in the various Islamic literary modes of which his son took advantage. He died when Donqol was ten years old and at such an early age, Donqol had to support his mother and two younger brothers. He completed his secondary education in

in 1957. In 1958, he enrolled in the Faculty of Arts,

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

. Before the end of his first year, he dropped out to work for a living as an employee at the Qena Court of Justice, the Customs Departments in Suez and Alexandria and the Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organisation. But he was always drawn to poetry.

Personal life

He was married to an Egyptian journalist Abla Elrowainy.

"The Prince of Refusers"

Amal Dunqol was known as the "Prince of Refusers" for his famous poem
"Do not reconcile"
it was originally composed and became a cry across the Arab world as a call to Egyptian President

Sadat Sadat ( ar, سادات) is a suffix, which is given to families believed to be descendants of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. In Iran, after the revolution, it is mandatory to mention "Seyed" or "Sadat" in the names of or whose descent from Muham ...

to not sign the Camp David peace treaty with

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1976. More recently, as Arab regimes have cracked down on popular uprisings, people have come to relate to the piece in a different light, viewing it as a call to neither reconcile nor negotiate with their own tyrannical regimes."An Introduction to contemporary political Arabic poetry", and essay. Part of the Political Arabic Poetry translation project
/ref>

Published works

*''Crying in front of zarqaa el yamama'' (1969) *''Comments on what has happened'' (1971) *''Murdering of the moon'' (1974) *''The coming Testament'' (1975) *''New documents about basous war'' (1983) *''Papers of room number 8'' (1983)

Death

Amal died on 21 May 1983 after 3 years of suffering from cancer.

References

External links

at Egyptian State Information Service.

Amal's masterpiece "Don't reconcile" translated into English as part of the Political Arabic Poetry translation project. {{DEFAULTSORT:Donqol, Amal Abul-Qassem Egyptian male poets 1940 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Egyptian poets 20th-century male writers Deaths from cancer in Egypt People from Qena Governorate