Step into Naguib Mahfouz’s Cairo through its soundtrack—where folk songs, classical melodies, and children’s rhymes weave through his narratives like literary motifs. This event celebrates “Song & Music in the Literature of Naguib Mahfouz”, a groundbreaking work featuring:

📖 A Dictionary & Critical Study cataloging every musical reference across Mahfouz’s works:
• 200+ Egyptian folk songs & poems
• Classical ghazals (like Hafez Shirazi’s in The Harafish)
• Revolutionary anthems post-1919 (e.g., Sayed Darwish)
• Golden Age icons (Umm Kulthum, Abdel Halim)

🎤 Why This Matters
Mahfouz used music as a covert chronicle of Egypt’s identity struggles—from colonial resistance to cultural renaissance. Author Ali Kotb decodes these sonic symbols with an engineer’s precision (his academic background) and a storyteller’s flair.

About the Author
Ali Kotb (Water Engineering M.Sc.) bridges STEM and humanities as a:
• Award-winning writer (Sawiris Prize, I Read Historical Fiction Award)
• Cultural archivist with 10+ books spanning novels, criticism, and children’s literature
• Film collaborator (co-writer of “A Friendly Spirit”, 15+ int’l awards)

Moderated by Mohamed Omar Genady
Literary critic & coordinator of Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s writing workshops, known for his cross-disciplinary analyses of Arab cultural production.

📅 Wednesday, 25 June | 🕖 7:00 PM
📍 Jesuit Cultural Center, Alexandria

AI generated translation.