Bashir Khrayyef (Arabic: البشير خريٌف, romanized: al-Bashīr Khurayyif; April 10, 1917 – December 17, 1983) was a Tunisian writer, considered "the father of the realist novel in Tunisia."[1] He is known for his harshly realistic descriptions of Tunisian society as well as for his use of Tunisian Arabic in the dialogues of his novels.[2][3]
Bashir Khrayyef | |
|---|---|
| البشير خريف | |
 | |
| Born | April 10, 1917 Nefta, Tunisia |
| Died | December 17, 1983 |
| Occupation | Novelist |
Early life and education edit
Khrayyef was born on April 10, 1917, in Nefta, government of Tozeur in southwest Tunisia. He came from a literary family; his brother was the poet Mustafa Khrayyef.[citation needed]
Writing career edit
Khrayyef's most famous historical novel, Barq al-layl ("Night Lightning," 1961) is set in Tunis during 16th-century Hafsid rule.[3] The novel treats the topics of slavery and racism through the love story of the protagonist, a black slave.[1]
Arguably his most influential novel, al-Digla fī ‘arājīnihā ("Dates in their Branches," 1969), is set in an oasis community in the southwest desert of Tunisia in the 1910s–1930s.[4] The remoteness of the community is emphasized through the use of a local dialect of Tunisian Arabic.[3] The book also articulates the relationship between the Tunisian labor movement and the later independence movement.[4]
His final novel, Ḥubbak darbānī ("Your Love is Maddening," 1980) recounts an impossible love between a man and a prostitute.[1]
Bibliography edit
Novels edit
- (1961) Barq al-layl (برق الليل (Night lightning))
- (1969) al-Digla fī ‘arājīnihā (الدڤلة في عراجينها (A date in its cluster))
- (1980) Ḥubbak darbānī (حبك درباني (Your love is maddening)), written in 1958[1]
Short story collections edit
- (1975) Mashmūm al-Full (مشموم الفل (Jasmine bouquet)), included the stories "Khalīfat al-ʼaqraʻ" خليفة الأقرع and "Maḥfaẓa al-samār" (محفظة السمار (The woven wallet)), previously published in the magazine al-Fikr in 1965 and 1970[5]
Other Stories edit
- Nokhal Baya (1936)
- Lilet loutya (1937)
- Hobbek derbani (1959)
- Ballara (1992)
Awards edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d Mamelouk, Douja (2017-08-10). Hassan, Waïl S. (ed.). Tunisia (in The Oxford Handbook of Arab Novelistic Traditions). Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. pp. 455–472. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199349791.013.30. ISBN 978-0-19-934979-1.
- ^ قابوس, عبد الكريم (9 September 2017). "البشير خريف ماركيز تونس الذي تقرأ الأمهات قصصه في سقائف البيوت" [Bashir Khrayyef: The Tunisian Márquez whose stories are read by mothers in the vestibules of their houses]. Al-Arab. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
- ^ a b c Allen, Roger (1995). The Arabic novel : an historical and critical introduction (2nd ed.). Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press. pp. 66, 95, 136. ISBN 0-8156-2641-X. OCLC 30971401.
- ^ a b Masri, Safwan. Tunisia: An Arab Anomaly. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017, 212.
- ^ الدريدي, الحبيب (2017-07-08). "مائويّة الأديب البشير خريّف (1917 - 1983): إِنّ مــن القَــصـــص لَـسِـحْـرًا". ليدرز Leaders.
- ^ a b c "البشير خريف" [Bashir Khrayyef]. Al-mawsouaa al-tunisiyya [The Tunisian Encyclopedia]. Retrieved 2020-10-31.