The Sage’s Staff

Description

In this book, Tawfiq al-Hakim revives a deeply rooted Arab tradition by using his famous staff as a symbolic mask for conversing with himself, others, and society. Instead of the camel, the sky, the companion, the beloved, and other symbols that ancient Arab poets so skillfully invoked to express their sorrows, longings, and poetic inspiration, al-Hakim engages in dialogue with his staff, employing it as an artistic vehicle to record his reflections on life, society, and art—the recurring themes throughout his literary career.

The Sage’s Staff is a collection of essays published intermittently between 1946 and 1951. In these essays, Tawfiq al-Hakim, with his keen eye, elegant and accessible style, and precise phrasing, observes some of the social, political, and human problems that plagued Egyptian and Eastern societies in the mid-20th century.