Hartmut Fähndrich (born 14 October 1944) is a German scholar and translator, specialising in translation of

Arabic literature Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from ...

into German. He was born in

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

and studied at the universities of Tübingen,

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

, and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. He obtained an MA in

comparative literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

and a PhD in Islamic studies from UCLA. In 1972, he moved to Switzerland where he has lived ever since. He has taught at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...

and the

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology The Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology are two institutes of higher education in Switzerland (part of the ETH Domain): * Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people ...

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

. Fähndrich has translated more than 50 book-length works and numerous other shorter pieces. His first translated work was ''Wild Thorns'' (German title: ''Der Feigenkaktus'') by

Sahar Khalifeh Sahar Khalifeh ( ar, سحر خليفة) (born 1941) is a Palestinian writer. She has written eleven novels, which have been translated into English, French, Hebrew, German, Spanish, and many other languages. One of her best-known works is the nov ...

in 1983. Since then he has translated books by many of the most important Arabic writers, from

Naguib Mahfouz Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha ( arz, نجيب محفوظ عبد العزيز ابراهيم احمد الباشا, ; 11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...

Alaa al-Aswany Alaa Al Aswany ( ar, علاء الأسواني, ; born 26 May 1957) is an Egyptian writer, novelist, and a founding member of the political movement Kefaya. Early life and career Al Aswany was born on 26 May 1957 in Cairo. His mother, Zainab ...

. A partial list of these writers is provided below; the full list can be foun
here (PDF)
Fähndrich has received numerous awards for his work, including several from the city of

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, one from the

Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

in 2004, from Egypt's Supreme Council of Culture in 2006, and the

Saudi King Abdullah International Award for Translation King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Award for Translation (previously Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Award for Translation (2008-2014)) is a Saudi international literary award for the translation o ...

in 2009, the world's richest translation prize. Of the Saudi award, Fähndrich said that only a fraction of the prize money he was supposed to have shared with an Arab colleague has arrived so far (as of October 2012), Fähndrich said "I feel I've been cheated". Fähndrich was also a member of the IPAF jury in 2008.

Translated authors

* Abdel Hakim Qasem * Abdelkader al-Janabi *

Abdelrahman Munif Abdelrahman bin Ibrahim al-Munif ( ar, عَبْدُ الرَّحْمٰن المُنِيفٌ) known by his nickname Abdelrahman Munif (May 29, 1933 – January 24, 2004) was a Saudi Arabian novelist, short story writer, memoirist, journalist ...

Azmi Bishara Azmi Bishara ( ar, عزمي بشارة born 22 July 1956) is an Israeli Arab public intellectual, political philosopher and author. He is presently the General Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and the Chair of the B ...

Edwar al-Kharrat Edwar al-Kharrat ( ar, إدوار الخراط‎; 16 March 1926 – 1 December 2015) was an Egyptian novelist, writer and critic. Early life He was born in Alexandria to a Coptic Christian family. He studied law at Alexandria University and w ...

Emile Habiby Emile Shukri Habibi ( ar, إميل حبيبي, he, אמיל חביבי, 28 January 1922 – 2 May 1996) was a Palestinian-Israeli

Emily Nasrallah Emily Daoud Nasrallah ( ar, إيميلي داود نصر الله) ('' née'' Abi Rached; 6 July 1931 – 13 March 2018) was a Lebanese writer and women's rights activist. She graduated from the Beirut College for Women (now the Lebanese Ameri ...

Gamal al-Ghitani Gamal al-Ghitani, ( ar, جمال الغيطانى, ; 9 May 1945 – 18 October 2015) was an Egyptian author of historical and political novels and cultural and political commentaries and was the editor-in-chief of the literary periodical ''Akhba ...

Ghassan Kanafani Ghassan Kanafani ( ar, غسان كنفاني, 8 April 1936 – 8 July 1972) was a Palestinian author and a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). On 8 July 1972 ...

* Hamida Naana *

Hanan al-Shaykh Hanan al-Shaykh ( ar, حنان الشيخ; born 12 November 1945, Beirut) is a Lebanese author of contemporary literature. Biography Hanan al-Shaykh was born Beirut, Lebanon, in 1945, into a strict Shi'a family. Her father and brother exerte ...

Hassan Daoud Hassan Daoud (Arabic: حسن داوود) (born 1950) is a Lebanese writer and journalist. Originally from the village of Noumairieh in southern Lebanon, he moved to Beirut as a child with his family. He studied Arabic literature at university. D ...

* Hassan Nasr *

Ibrahim al-Koni Ibrāhīm al-Kōnī (sometimes translated as Ibrāhīm Kūnī) ( ar, ابراهيم الكوني) is a Libyan writer and is considered to be one of the most prolific Arab novelists. Biography Born in 1948 in the Fezzan Region, Ghadamis City, ...

* Iman Humaydan-Yunus * Khaled Ziadeh *

Latifa al-Zayyat Latifa al-Zayyat ( ar, لطيفة الزيات) (8 August 1923 – 10 September 1996) was an Egyptian activist and writer, most famous for her novel ''The Open Door'', which won the inaugural Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature. Biography Al Zay ...

* May Telmissany * Mohammad al-Bisatie * Muhammad al-Machsangi * Muhammad Mustagab *

* Rashid al-Daif *

Salwa Bakr Salwa Bakr (born 1949) is an Egyptian critic, novelist and author. Profile of the Egyptian Writer Salwa Bakr She was born in the Matariyya district in Cairo in 1949. Her father was a railway worker. She studied business at Ain Shams University, ...

Sinan Antoon Sinan Antoon ( ar, سنان أنطون), is an Iraqi poet, novelist, scholar, and literary translator. He has been described as "one of the most acclaimed authors of the Arab world." He is an associate professor at the Gallatin School of Individu ...

Sonallah Ibrahim Son'allah Ibrahim ( ar, صنع الله إبراهيم ''Ṣunʻ Allāh Ibrāhīm'') (born 1937) is an Egyptian novelist and short story writer and one of the " Sixties Generation" who is known for his leftist and nationalist views which are expr ...

Yahya Taher Abdullah Yahya Taher Abdullah (Arabic: يحيى الطاهر عبد الله) (1942–1981) was an Egyptian writer. Biography Abdullah born in Karnak in 1942. He grew up in Upper Egypt, but moved to Cairo in 1964. One of the first to recognize his talents ...

Yusuf Idris Yusuf Idris, also Yusif Idris ( ar, يوسف إدريس) (May 19, 1927 – August 1, 1991) was an Egyptian writer of plays, short stories, and novels. Biography Idris was born in Faqous. He originally trained to be a doctor, studying at the U ...

Zakaria Tamer Zakaria Tamer ( ar, زكريا تامر, Zakariyyā Tāmir; born January 2, 1931), also spelled Zakariya Tamir, is a Syrian short story writer. He is one of the most important and widely read and translated short story writers in the Arab world ...

External links

Official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fahndrich, Hartmut 1944 births German translators German–Arabic translators Living people People from Tübingen German male non-fiction writers