Humphrey T. Davies (6 April 1947 – 12 November 2021) was a British translator of Arabic fiction, historical and classical texts. Born in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, he studied Arabic in college and graduate school. He has worked for decades in the Arab world and been based in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

since the late 20th century. He has translated at least 18 Arabic works into English, including contemporary literature. He is a two-time winner of the Banipal Prize.

Life and career

Born in London on 6 April 1947, Davies studied Arabic at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and the

American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs ...

's Centre for Arabic Studies Abroad (CASA) in the 1960s. After working in the Arabic world and as a translator for years, he completed a PhD in Arabic in 1981 at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. Davies worked for NGOs and funding institutions in a number of countries in the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

, including

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. He began translating in 1997. From the early 21st century, he focused solely on literary translation. He died from pancreatic cancer in London on 12 November 2021, at the age of 74.

Translations

Davies has translated both classical and

colloquial Arabic The variety (linguistics), varieties (or dialects or vernacular languages) of Arabic, a Semitic languages, Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic family originating in the Arabian Peninsula, are the linguistic systems tha ...

texts and has noted in particular his "respect for colloquial Arabic." He worked in collaboration on the ''

El-Said Badawi El-Said Badawi (El-Saʿīd Muḥammad Badawī) () was a scholar and linguist and author of many works, both in English and in Arabic, dealing with various aspects of the Arabic language. Having learned the Qur'an by the age of ten in his village, ...

Dictionary of Egyptian Arabic.'' Davies began translating while working on a critical edition and lexicon of Yusuf al-Shirbini's '' Hazz al-Quhuf bi-Sharh Qasid Abi Shaduf'' (Brains Confounded by the Ode of Abu Shaduf Expounded), a 17th-century Egyptian text on Ottoman rural culture. This is considered a valuable source for the period's colloquial

Egyptian Arabic Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian ( ar, العامية المصرية, ), or simply Masri (also Masry) (), is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic dialect in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and o ...

. Davies' first published translation was a short story by Sayed Ragab, which appeared in ''Banipal'' magazine in 2000. Since then, he has translated several well-known works of Arabic literature, including

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 ...

's ''

The Yacoubian Building ''The Yacoubian Building'' ( ar, عمارة يعقوبيان ''‘Imārat Ya‘qūbyān'') is a novel by Egyptian author Alaa-Al-Aswany. The book was made into a film of the same name in 2006 and into a TV series in 2007. Published in Arabi ...

'' ( ar, عمارة يعقوبيان, ''ʿImārat Yaʿqūbīān,'' 2002). His 2004 translation was voted one of 50 outstanding translations in the last 50 years by the British Society of Authors. His translation of Lebanese writer

Elias Khoury Elias Khoury ( ar, إلياس خوري; born 12 July 1948) is a Lebanese novelist, and prominent public intellectual. Accordingly, he has published myriad novels related to literary criticism, which have been translated into several foreign lan ...

's novel ''Gate of the Sun'' ( ar, باب الشمس, ''Bab al-shams''), won the

English PEN Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associati ...

"Writers in Translation" award and the

Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation The Banipal Prize, whose full name is the Saif Ghobash–Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, is an annual prize awarded to a translator (or translators) for the published English translation of a full-length literary work in the Arab ...

. Davies said that when he translated the work of a living author, he made it his practice to call upon the author for advice. His work has been published by

AUC Press The American University in Cairo Press (AUCP, AUC Press) is the leading English-language publisher in the Middle East. The largest translator of Arabic literature in the world, AUC Press has a reputation for carefully selecting and translating t ...

Words Without Borders ''Words Without Borders'' (''WWB'') is an international magazine open to international exchange through translation, publication, and promotion of the world's best writing and authors who are not easily accessible to English-speaking readers. The ...

, and

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 ...

. Other translations include: * ''Thebes at War'', a novel by

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. ...

* ''Friendly Fire'', a collection of short stories by Alaa Al-Aswany * ''Being Abbas el Abd'' by

Ahmed Alaidy Ahmed Alaidy, أحمد العايدي , is an Egyptian novelist, scriptwriter, Director, poet, editor, and Comics Writer born on December 24, 1974. He is the author of the novel Being Abbas El Abd (2006), ( An Takoun Abbas El Abd) (2003), أن ...

* ''Pyramid Texts'' by

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 '' Akh ...

* ''The Mahfouz Dialogues'' by Gamal al-Ghitani * ''Black Magic'' by Hamdy el-Gazzar * ''Tales of Dayrut'' by

Mohamed Mustagab Mohamed Mustagab (1938–2006) was an Egyptian novelist and short story writer. Early life He was born in the town of Dayrut in Upper Egypt. He had little formal education and was involved in the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s. He ...

* ''Life Is More Beautiful Than Paradise'' by

Khaled al-Berry Khaled al-Berry (born 1972) is an Egyptian writer. He studied medicine at Cairo University, but moved to London soon after graduation. He has lived there ever since. He is best known for his autobiography ''The World is More Beautiful than Heaven'' ...

* ''Yalo'', a novel by Elias Khoury (British edition, winner of the Banipal Prize) * ''Sunset Oasis'', a novel by

Bahaa Taher Bahaa Taher ( ar, بهاء طاهر; 13 January 1935 – 27 October 2022), sometimes transliterated as Bahaa Tahir, Baha Taher, or Baha Tahir, was an Egyptian novelist and short story writer who wrote in Arabic. He was awarded the inaugural Inte ...

(joint runner-up for the Banipal Prize) * ''As Though She Were Sleeping'' by Elias Khoury * '' Midaqq Alley'', a novel by Naguib Mahfouz * '' Leg Over Leg'' (Al-Saq ‘ala al-Saq) by

Ahmad Faris Shidyaq Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq ( ar, أحمد فارس الشدياق, ; born Faris ibn Yusuf al-Shidyaq; born 1805 or 1806; died 20 September 1887) was a scholar, writer and journalist who grew up in what is now present-day Lebanon. A Maronite Christia ...

* ''In Darfur: An Account of the Sultanate and Its People'' by Muḥammad al-Tūnisī

Books

* ''A Field Guide to the Street Names of Central Cairo'' by Humphrey T. Davies and Lesley Lababidi

Awards and honours

*2006

, winner for ''Gate of the Sun'' by

*2006

"Writers in Translation" award, winner for ''Gate of the Sun'' by

*2010

, winner for ''Yalo'' by

*2010

, runner-up for ''Sunset Oasis'' by

*2010

Independent Foreign Fiction Prize The ''Independent'' Foreign Fiction Prize (1990–2015) was a British literary award. It was inaugurated by British newspaper ''The Independent'' to honour contemporary fiction in translation in the United Kingdom. The award was first launched i ...

, longlisted for ''Yalo'' by

*2012

, runner-up for ''I Was Born There, I Was Born Here'' by

Mourid Barghouti Mourid Barghouti ( ar, مريد البرغوثي, ; 8 July 1944 – 14 February 2021) was a Palestinian poet and writer. Biography Barghouti was born in Deir Ghassana, near Ramallah, on the West Bank, in 8 July 1944. He studied English litera ...

*2014

Best Translated Book Award The Best Translated Book Award is an American literary award that recognizes the previous year's best original translation into English, one book of poetry and one of fiction. It was inaugurated in 2008 and is conferred by Three Percent, the onlin ...

, shortlist for ''Leg Over Leg Vol. 1'' by

Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq ( ar, أحمد فارس الشدياق, ; born Faris ibn Yusuf al-Shidyaq; born 1805 or 1806; died 20 September 1887) was a scholar, writer and journalist who grew up in what is now present-day Lebanon. A Maronite Christia ...

References

External links

"Never at a loss for words"
Iman Sherif, ''Gulf News'', 20 Jan 2012.
"The Humphrey Davies Interview"
by M. Lynx Qualey, ''Quarterly Conversation'', 7 Dec 2009
Humphrey Davies In Conversation With André Naffis-Sahely

Humphrey Davies In Conversation With André Naffis-Sahely Part II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Humphrey T. 1946 births 2021 deaths Arabic–English translators People from London