Wajdi al-Ahdal ( Arabic: وجدي الأهلي) (born 1973) is a Yemeni novelist, short story writer and playwright. Laureate of the

International Prize for Arabic Fiction 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 ...

(IPAF) in 2008, is known for his contemporary literary style and sometimes socially critical works, some of which have been censored in Yemen. Until 2019, he has published five novels, four collections of short stories, a play and a film screenplay.

Life and career

Wajdi al-Ahdal was born near Bajil in the province of

Al Hudaydah Al-Hudaydah ( ar, الْحُدَيْدَة, al-ḥudayda), also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or Hodeidah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea. As of 2004, its population was 402,560 and it is ...

and studied at the

University of Sanaa Sana'a University ( ) was established in 1970 as the first and the primary university in the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen), now the Republic of Yemen (see also Aden University). It is located in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, and is currently o ...

. His first short stories were published in 1995 in a Yemeni newspaper, and later in ''Aswat'' magazine, which was edited by Yemeni poet

Abdul Aziz al-Maqaleh Abdul Aziz Al-Maqaleh ( Arabic:; 1937 – 28 November 2022) was a Yemeni poet and writer. He followed the school of free poetry and he was the Yemen's first poet to win the Al-Owais cultural Award. Life and career Al-Maqaleh was born in 193 ...

. In 2002, al-Ahdal's novel ''Qawarib Jabaliya'' (Mountain Boats) was confiscated by the Yemeni Ministry of Culture for insulting ‘morality, religion, and conventions of Yemeni society’. To avoid imprisonment, he spent some time in exile in Syria before being able to return to Yemen. A more recent novel, ''The Quarantine Philosopher'' was nominated for the

(IPAF) in 2008. In 2010, al-Ahdal was selected as one of the invited writers for

Beirut39 Beirut39 is a collaborative project between the Hay Festival, Beirut UNESCO's World Book Capital 2009 celebrations, ''Banipal'' magazine and the British Council among others in order to identify 39 of the most promising Arab writers under the age o ...

, a group of 39 Arab writers under the age of 40, chosen through a contest organised by Banipal magazine and the Hay Festival. He was also chosen by IPAF to be one of the seven participants in its writers' workshop ''Nadwa'' in 2010. al-Ahdal's work has appeared in English translation in a number of anthologies: * ''Oranges in the Sun: Contemporary Short Stories from the Arabian Gulf'' (2006) * ''Beirut 39: New Writing from the Arab World'' (2010) * ''Emerging Arab Voices: Nadwa 1: A Bilingual Reader'' (2011) * ''Banipal 36: Literature in Yemen Today'' *''Banipal 65'': Contains a chapter from his novel ''Land of Happy Conspiracies'' His novel '' A Land without Jasmine'' was translated into English by

William M. Hutchins William Maynard Hutchins (born October 11, 1944) is an American academic, author and translator of contemporary Arabic literature. He was formerly a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Appalachian State University in Boone, No ...

. This translation won the 2013 Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation. According to the Banipal Trust, "Wajdi’s book is in a category all its own, fusing together elements of police procedural, myth, fable, psychological thriller and scathing social critique." He currently works in the cinema and drama department of the Yemeni Ministry of Culture.

References

External links

*
Excerpt from Wajdi al-Ahdal’s novel ''Donkey in the Choir'' in English translation
at wordswithoutborders.org
Wajdi al-Ahdal's story ''‘Saghira’s Laws’''
','' translated into English and illustrated for a special website by

Yemen Policy Center Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and sha ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahdal, Wajdi al- 1973 births Living people Yemeni writers Yemeni novelists Yemeni dramatists and playwrights Sanaa University alumni People from Al Hudaydah Governorate

Life and career

See also

References

External links