Mohamed El Bisatie 1937 - 2012
Born November 1937 in el-Gamalia, Dakahlia bordering Lake Manzalah.. A graduate of Cairo University, School of Commerce in 1960, he has worked for the government until he retired recently as an accountancy inspector.
He started writing in 1962 and published many stories in al-Masa’, al-Katib,al-Majalla, Rose el-Youssef. Among those were Ibtissamat al-Madina al-Ramadiyya, Mughamarat Hamza and Hadith min al-Tabik al-Thalith. The latter was first published in al-Masa’ on 14 August 1966.
El-Bisatie was one of the group of writers known as "Gallery 68" writers. “Gallery 68 is an avant-garde literary magazine which was the brainchild of a core group of about 10 writers and artists, but in practice it embraced a wider circle of intellectuals, with over 60 writers, poets ,artists and critics publishing in its eight issues
Clamor of the Lake won the 1995 Cairo International Book Fair Award for Best Novel of the Year. .It was translated by Hala Halim and published by AUC press in 2004 and was runner-up in the inaugural Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, awarded in 2006. He received the Sultan Owais award in 2000.
In 2006 his novel Over the Bridge translated by Denys Johnson-Davies was published by AUC Press, and in 2008, his novel Hunger. Hunger was shortlisted for IPAF in 2009. In 2010, AUC Press published his novel Drumbeat translated by Peter Daniel. Drum Beat - original Arabic novel won the Prize for Sawiris in 2009.
He died in July 2012, at the age of 75.
A selection of his works are:
Short Story Collections
His first collection "alkibar wa al-sighar" was published in 1967 – Dar el-Kitab el-Arabi
Hadith min al-Tabik al-Thalith wa kissas ukhra – 1970- G.E.B.O.
Ahlam Rijal Kissar al-‘Umr – in 1979 and 1984- G.E.B.O.
Hatha ma Kan – Cairo G.E.B.O. 1988
The above four collections have been published by G.E.B.O. together in Volume 2 of the Complete Works by Bisatie.
Munhana al-Nahr - Cairo G.E.B.O. 1992 – Mukhtarat Fussul series
Daw’ Da ‘if la Yakshuf Shya’an – Dar Sharkiyyat 1993
Sa’at Maghreb – Dar el-Hilal 1996
Novels
Al-Tajir wa-l-Naqqash - Dar al-Thakafa al-Gadida 1976
Al-Maqha al-Zujaji - Dar ibn Rushd 1979
Al-Ayyam al-Sa’aba - Dar ibn Rushd 1979
The above three novels were published by G.E.B.O. in Volume 1 of the Complete Works of Bisatie
Beyout Wara’ al-Ashgar first published Dar el-Hilal 1993
by G.E.B.O.1999
Dar el-Adab Beirut 2000
Sakhb al-Buhaira first published Dar Sharkiyyat 1994
Thakafa Gamahiriyya 1997
G.E.B.O.1998
Dar el-Maghreby, Tunis 1999
Aswat el-Leil - Dar el-Hilal 1998
Wa Ya’ati al-Kitar - G.E.B.O.1999
Layal Ukhra - Dar el-Adab Beirut 2000
Fardous - Merit Publishing 2003
Translations
A Last glass of Tea & other stories Translated into English by Denys Johnson-Davies (Colorado Springs; three Continents Press, 1995)
A House Behind Trees Beyout Wara’ al-Ashgar Translated by Denys Johnson-Davies into English ( University of Texas Press)
Also translated into Italian by Blanca Longhi (Sperling-Kupfer)
Into French by Edwige Lambert ( Actes Sud)
Sakhb al-Buhaira translated into French by Edwige Lambert
Al-Tajir wa-l-Naqqash translated into Spanish ( Al-Kalima)
