Gaib Tuma Farman to be awarded a Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction 2020, and the winners in the categories
Gaib Tuma Farman – His Life and Works
08.11.2020
T
he Cultural Workers Association (Qattara) announced the names of the winners at the sixth session, which was held in a digital format this time. This year's award, organized under the guidance of The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), was given to the Iraqi novelist Gaib Tuma Farman. More than 2220 participants took part at session 6 which is 370 more than in the previous year. The winners in Published Arabic Stories category include: "Al-Khatab Valley" by Sheikh Ahmad al-Ban from Mauritania, "A Fly Under the Christmas Tree" by Ibrahim Nasrallah from Palestine, ‘’1918 Dust" by Fatina al-Marr from Lebanon, "Millions" by Fathiye Dabsh from Tunisia and ‘’Following" by Muhammad al-Mahranji from Egypt.
The winners in Unpublished Arabic Stories category include: "The Watchman" by al-Azhar al-Zanad from Tunisia, "The Virgin of Granada: Love Between Two Cities" by Said al-Alyama from Morocco, “The Incident in Alexandria" by Salem Mahmoud Salem from Egypt, "Set Eyes on the Black Mercedes - National Comedy" by Ghazi Hussein al-Ali from Syria, "Half a Man" by Naguib Nasser from Yemen. The winners in Stories By Young Writers include: "Three Hats" by Mahdi Salah al-Javidi from Egypt, "2222" by Muhammad Mahmoud al-Akshiya from Palestine, "Wings of Fire" by Nazem Mazhar from Iraq, "Sanad, the Pirate-Conqueror" by Nada Muhammad Jamal from Jordan, "Towards the Light" by Hada Bukhrawa from Algeria. The winner in Unpublished National Story category is The City of Love by Abdel Rahim al-Sadiqi.
The winners in Research category (research and literary criticism) include: "Semi-colonial Art in the Female Prose In the Context of Works By Ahlam Mosteganemi" by Asami Ayub Alimi from Egypt, "Ego and Other Stories About Immigration" by Abdel Malik al-Ashabula from Morocco, "The Cultural Development of the Imaginary World: Symbols of a Possible World in the Novel "The Land of Happy Intentions of Vajdi al Ahdal" by Alavi Ahamad Saleh al-Maldini from Yemen, "A Descriptive Verbal Forms in Narration: In the Context of Works By Hasan Canfali" by Muhammad Ismail al-Luban from Egypt and "The Description of Reality in Narration: Theoretical and Writing Research".Literature and Art to be announced | / Al-Akhbar newspaper | Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Gaib Tuma Farman's Literary Career
The great writer was born and raised in one of the poorest districts of Baghdad, where he finished high school. His father was one of the first drivers in Baghdad. He used to tell his little son about his trips and adventures. This is what made G.T. Farman reflect his impressions and memories in his novel Al-Mahad.
Despite his poverty, G.T. Farman went to the capital of Egypt, Cairo, to study Literature. This experience was very significant for him, as he met famous Egyptian writers such as Naguib Mahfouz, Taha Hussein, and Salama Musa there. During his life in Cairo, he published several articles and short stories, including National Culture – As-Sakafa – Message.
In his early works, G.T. Farman tried to avoid political issues, primarily focusing on literary and social problems. More than three years later, he returned to Iraq to work for the National Democratic Party's newspaper Al-Akhali.
This is when he wrote his famous novel Hamsat Aswat, which portrayed literary life in Iraq in the 1950s. In 1954, due to the political situation in the country, Farman moved to Syria and Lebanon and continued his literary work there, before returning to Cairo in 1957 to publish Iraq During the Black Regime. At that time, his political views resulted in his denaturalization, so he went to China to work for the new Chinese News Agency.
After the 14 July Revolution in Iraq, the writer returned to his native land and worked for press for a while. Then he went to the Soviet Union and lived there for thirty years until his death in 1990. Although he was not a political activist and did not participate in political organizations because of his state of health (he suffered from a serious disease), the Iraqi authorities stripped him of citizenship in 1963 again.
G.T. Farman's most significant literary works:
Hasid Arrah (In the End Things Will Mend), Maulud Ahar (The Second Child), An-Nahl val Jiran (The Palm Tree and The Neighbors), Hamsat Aswat (Five Voices), Al-Mahad (Birth Pangs), Al-Kurban (Victim), Zylal Ala-n-nafiza (Shadows in the Window), Alam al-Sayyid Maarouf (The Sufferings of Maarouf), The Desired and Delayed, Al-Markeb).
G.T. Farman remains one of the most prominent pioneer writers of the Iraqi literature and the Arab world, and was awarded a Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction 2020.