Elias Farkouh (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: إلياس فركوح) (1948 – July 15, 2020) was a Jordanian short story writer and novelist. He was born in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

in 1948 and was educated in Amman and

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...

. He graduated from the Arab University of Beirut where he read philosophy and psychology. He worked as a journalist in the early part of his career. After working at the publishing house Al-Manarat, he set up his own house Dar Azminah in 1991 and ran it until his death.

Work

Elias Farkouh published a number of short story collections and novels. His 2007 novel ''The Land of Purgatory'' was nominated for the inaugural

Arabic Booker Prize The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) ( ar, الجائزة العالمية للرواية العربية) is the most prestigious and important literary prize in the Arab world. Its aim is to reward excellence in contemporary Arabic ...

, while his first novel ''Columns of Foam'' (1987) was selected as one of the 100 best Arabic novels of the 20th century by the Arab Writers' Union. His short stories have been translated into English and appeared in

Banipal ''Banipal'' is an independent literary magazine dedicated to the promotion of contemporary Arab literature through translations in English. It was founded in London in 1998 by Margaret Obank and Samuel Shimon. The magazine is published three tim ...

magazine. He also translated Western literary works into Arabic, notably a book of short stories by

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

women writers that was published in 1999. Elias Farkouh won a number of Jordanian awards for his contributions to literature, including the State Meritorious Award (1997) and the Mahmud Sayf Ed-Din Irani Award, presented by the Jordanian Writers' Association.Profile on Comma Press website
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Selected works

Short story collections

* ''Al-Saf'a'' (''The Slap'') (1978) * ''Tuyour Amman Tuhalliq Munkhafida'' (''Amman's Birds Sweep Low'') (1981) * ''Ihda wa Eshrouna Talqa lil-Nabeyy'' (''Twenty One Shots for the Prophet'') (1982, winner of the 1982 Jordanian Writers' Association Award) * ''Huqoul Al-Zilal'' (''Fields of Shadows'') (2002)

Novels

* ''Qamat al-zabad'' ('' Columns of Foam'') (1987) * ''Aamidat al-ghoubar'' (''Pillars of Dust'') (1996) * ''Ard al-yambous'' (''The Land of Purgatory'') (2007, winner of the 2008 Jordanian Writers' Association Award) * ''Asrar Sa'at Al Raml'' (''Secrets Of The Sand-Clock'') (, Arabic, Arab Scientific Publishers, 2010)

References

External links

Author's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farkouh Elias 1948 births Jordanian male writers 2020 deaths Jordanian novelists Jordanian short story writers 20th-century Jordanian writers 20th-century novelists 20th-century short story writers 21st-century Jordanian writers 21st-century novelists 21st-century short story writers People from Amman