Description
“In truth, I don’t much believe in that myth about authors’ anger. Allow me to speak on their behalf and say: this anger finds no way into a writer’s soul unless he senses in his critic a disregard for truth and seriousness, and a tendency to belittle him, veiled in ill intent!”
Perhaps our understanding of Tawfiq al-Hakim will not be complete without examining these highly personal aspects of his thought, represented in the chapters of this book, which includes some of his letters and debates with a number of prominent literary figures and writers of his time, such as Taha Hussein, Mansour Fahmy, and Ahmed Amin, on various religious, artistic, political, and social topics. Often, these correspondences and critical debates reveal facets of the writers’ personalities that are scarcely apparent in their other writings. For opinions that might slip out in the heat of debate or the flow of ideas are more readily apparent to them than those that emerge when they dedicate themselves to writing. Another crucial aspect of this collection is the final essays that “Al-Hakim” devoted to expressing his views on women, a man long accused of misogyny. Do these essays confirm or refute this accusation?
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