Nael Eltoukhy (born 1978) is an Egyptian author, columnist and translator. Eltoukhy has published two novellas and three novels in Arabic, including Al Alfen wa seta (Two Thousand and Six, 2009) and Nisaa Al Karantina (Women of Karantina, 2013,) which Mahmoud El-Wardani called "a new twist in the evolution of the form of the Egyptian novel itself."[1] The latter has been translated into English by Robin Moger,[2] who also translated an extract of Eltoukhy's third novel, Out of the Gutter (2018).[3] Eltoukhy has also translated two books from Hebrew to Arabic, while his columns and short stories have appeared in the New York Times,[4] Mada Masr,[5] Al-Safir,[6] among others.
Early life and education
editEltoukhy was born in Kuwait, and studied Hebrew at Ain Shams University.
Translations of Hebrew
editEltoukhy's passion for Hebrew is “rare” by his own admission, among students of the language in Arab universities.[7] He was curious about Hebrew because he felt Arabs didn't know anything about Israel from the inside.[8] However, earlier on Eltoukhy had wanted to study English, but his grades were not high enough, so he chose to study Hebrew instead.[7]
Eltoukhy went on to translate provocative Israeli authors, such as late playwright Hanoch Levin, who Eltoukhy mentions as his dream,[8] as well as Idith Zertal’s Israel’s Holocaust and the Politics of Nationhood, and Almog Behar's Chahla ve-Hezkel (Rachel and Ezekiel).[9]
According to Eltoukhy, it is easy to publish Hebrew to Arabic translations in Egypt, however the problem lies with publishers not wanting to pay royalties to an Israeli publisher as it would be seen as a form of normalization.[7] Therefore, he has worked with younger authors that are willing to give up their royalties to circumvent the politics.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Book review: The secret world of Alexandria". Ahram Online. 2013-05-26.
- ^ Anderson, Porter (2023-01-12). "Translators Moger, Davies Win England's Banipal Prize". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
- ^ "What Everybody Knows". The White Review. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
- ^ Eltoukhy, Nael (2017-06-08). "The Arab Epics of 1967". The New York Times.
- ^ "Contributor - Nael Eltoukhy". Mada Masr.
- ^ "Nael Eltoukhy". Al-Safir. Archived from the original on 2018-02-07.
- ^ a b c d "An Interview with Translator/Novelist Nael ElToukhy". Asymptote. 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
- ^ a b "Nael El Toukhy: a post-modern novelist's eye on Egypt". Radio Open Source. 2012-12-29. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
- ^ "ALMOG BEHAR Poetry is Guilty (translation by Shoshana Olidort)". www.poetrynw.org. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
External links
editNael Eltoukhy personal blog (includes an archive of published articles)
Hakaza tahadath Cohen (Thus spoke Cohen), Collection of writings translated from Hebrew to Arabic.
Mada Masr - contributions in English and Arabic
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