Abdulnabi Ghayem (left) and Farouk Shousha

Farouk Shousha ( ar, فاروق شوشة; January 9, 1936 – October 14, 2016) was an

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

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 writte ...

. He hosted the popular television program ''Umsiya Thaqafiya'' ("Cultural Evening") from 1977 through 2006.

Early life

Shousha was born in

Damietta Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easter ...

, where he attended ''

kuttab A kuttab ( ar, كُتَّاب ''kuttāb'', plural: ''kataatiib'', ) or maktab ( ar, مَكْتَب) is a type of elementary school in the Muslim world. Though the ''kuttab'' was primarily used for teaching children in reading, writing, grammar, ...

''. He credited the ''kuttab'' with having provided him "a strong foundation of language". When a

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

epidemic led to his confinement at home, Shousha read poetry to pass the time. Afterwards, he began a programmatic reading of Arabic poetry at the local library, where he read everything from the pre-Islamic period through contemporary poets. Of the Damietta library, Shousha related that, "It was there that my first poems were born."

Career

Shousha attended

Dar al-Ulum Dar al-Ulum ( ar, كلية دار العلوم, kullīya dār al-ʿulūm "House of Sciences" ), is an educational institution designed to produce students with both an Islamic and modern secondary education. It was founded in 1871 and is now a f ...

, where he became known as the Students' Poet. After graduation, he began working as a radio presenter. Eventually, he rose to be Director of

Egyptian Radio Egyptian Radio also known as the Egyptian Radio's General Program (إذاعة البرنامج العام transliterated as Iza'at El-Bernameg Al-Aam) also popularly known as Radio Cairo (in Arabic إذاعة القاهرة transliterated as Iza'at ...

. Later, Shousha entered the field of television. Throughout his media career, Shousha was associated with cultural and literary programs. In 2005, Shousha was named Secretary-General of the Arabic Language Academy, a body described by ''

Al-Ahram Weekly ''Al-Ahram Weekly'' is an English-language weekly broadsheet printed by the Al-Ahram Publishing House in Cairo, Egypt. History and profile ''Al Ahram Weekly'' was established in 1991 by the ''Al-Ahram'' newspaper, which also runs a French-langu ...

'' as "the guardians of the language". In his role as Secretary-General, Shousha was critical of what he considered to be a decline in the quality of

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 ...

in Egypt, a problem he attributed to radio and television announcers, poor teaching standards and the lack of libraries in schools. Shousha described the problem as "an issue of national security". The first volume of Shousha's ''Collected Poems'' was published in 1985, and the second volume in 2007. Concerning the volumes' publication, Shousha remarked, "I am happy to be honored during my lifetime, not, as is the case with so many intellectuals, long after I die." In 2018, in his honor, Google changed its logo to a doodle of him in nine countries across the Middle East on what would have been his 82 birthday.

Selected awards

Shousha won the following honors, among others: * State Encouragement Award for Poetry (1986) * Kfafis International Prize for Poetry (1994) * Saudi Yemeni Prize for Poetry (1994) * State Recognition Prize for Literature (1997)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shousha, Farouk 1936 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Egyptian poets Egyptian radio presenters Egyptian television presenters 21st-century Egyptian poets Egyptian male poets 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers Members of Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo