The writer's Chicago Trilogy was our book club selection for August 2014.
Find more information on the book, the author and his work on the book's page.
Mahmoud Saeed, a prominent Iraqi novelist, has written more than 20 novels and short story collections, including Port Said and Other Stories, his first collection of short stories, which was published in 1957.
Even before this collection was published, one of Saeed's short stories was awarded a prize by the newspaper The Youth of Iraq in 1956. The first military-Baathist Iraqi government seized two of his novels in 1963, one of which was a manuscript in the possession of the Iraqi Writers' Union. The Iraqi authorities also destroyed another of Saeed's novels, An Old Question, which was ready for publication.
Saeed was imprisoned several times and was frequently interrogated by the Iraqi police, and he eventually left Iraq in 1985 after the authorities banned the publication of some of his novels, including Zanka bin Baraka (1970), which nevertheless won the Ministry of Information Award in 1993. Saeed's novel Nihayat An Nahar won the Story Association Prize in 1996, and one of his short stories won the Al-Shaykha Fatima Award for Children's Literature. Saeed's novel I Who Witnessed was translated into English (2003) by Saqi Books (London) and into Italian (2005) by Edizioni Spartaco, appearing under the title Saddam City.
He has published hundreds of articles in Arabic literary magazines and newspapers including:
Aladab Magazine (Beirut, Lebanon)
Almada Magazine (Damascus, Syria)
Almuntada Magazine (Dubai, U.A.E.)
Al Ightrab Aladabi Magazine (London, U.K.)
Al mawkif Aladabi Magazine (Damascus, Syria)
Story Magazine/ Majalatu Al Qissa (London, U.K.)
Al Rafid Magazine (Shrja, U.A.E.)
Alkhalij Newspaper (Shrja, U.A.E.)
Al Hyatt Newspaper (London, U.K.)
Albaian Newspaper (Dubai, U.A.E.)
Al Quds Newspaper (London, U.K.)
Alitihad Newspaper (Abu Dabi, U.A.E.)
Four works of his fiction were lost during the period of 1970-1985.
PUBLICATIONS:
1956- first short story award, from Mowsel newspaper.
1957— Port Saeed and Other Stories Published in Baghdad, there was a copy at the public library.
Unfortunately, no one knows who burned this library after the American occupation of Iraq.
1963— An Old Case Published by the Iraqi Writer's Union in Baghdad. Banned, then burned.
1963— The Strike he manuscript was written in 1959, the government banned and burned it in 1963.
1968— The Sound and the Rhythm Was published in 1995 by Almada House in Damascus, Syria.
1970— Bin Barka Ally ( Zankat Bin Barka.) Published in 1993 by Dar Alkarmal in Amman, Jordon. Won Best Iraqi Novel Award the same year. The second edition, by Dar Aladab in Beirut, Lebanon, came out in 1996.
1981— I Am Who Was Seen A fictional manuscript about Iraqi prisons. This novel was written under a pen name (Mustafa Ali Noman) because of my family in Iraq— I was afraid the government would punish them. Written in 1981, published by Almada House in 1995, Damascus, Syria.
1996— The End of the Daylight Published by Alhiat House in Beirut, Lebanon. Won the First Place Award in Egypt, by Story Club, Cairo.
1997— The Birds of Love and War Short-story collection, published by Dar Sina in Egypt, Cairo.
1998— The Beautiful Death Published by Almada House, Damascus, Syria.
1999- award from Abu Dhabi (Shiha Fatima) forth award for children stories.
1999— Before the Love, After the Love.
Published in Damascus, Syria.
2003—“Al dhalan” Two Lost Souls Published in Arabic by Dar Aladab, Beirut, Lebanon.
2003— Saddam City This novel is the English edition of I Am Who Was Seen, published at Dar As Saqi London,
England. The publisher changed the title to Saddam City.
2005 Kipped down “al Munsadeh” Short stories collections.
2005. I Am Who Was Seen, The Italian version, by name of : Saddam City. Prima Edizioe.
2006 .Two Lost Souls, English version of Al dhalan” Chicago.
2006, I Am Who Was Seen, complete addition. Dar alhilal. Cairo.Egypt.
2006. Addunia fi oion almalazka. Dar Merit. Cairo. Egypt.
2007: Daughters of Jacob. Dar Nelson. Beirut.
republished in 2008 by Dar Fadaat. Amman. Jordan.
2008: Chicago Trilogy. Dar Afaaq. Cairo :
1- The Edge of Being Lost.
2- Asadora.
3- Zita and Saadan.
2008 – Famous global reading team "Library thing website" chose best 192 novel written in the world during more than two centuries, and put stars on them, so the novels that have won 5 stars were 12 only, four stars 60 novels, including the novel (I am the one who saw - Saddam City)
2008 – Contemporarily Iraqi fiction. An Anthology. Translated by Dr. Shakir Mustafa, a professor of Boston University. In the anthology two short stories of Mahmoud Saeed>
URL address.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=contemporary+iraqi+fiction&aq=0&oq=contemporary+Iraqi+f&aqi=g1
2009 - United Nations chose 37 writers from around the world, including Mahmoud Saeed, to write about the Charter of Human Rights, on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of its issuance, and the stories have been translated into English, and the stories were set in August. Mahmud’s story was: Warriors of the Sky, translated into English by Ahmad Sadri
• Forthcoming: The Valley of Happiness, Short Story to be published by Amnesty International in an Anthology of Children’s stories
2009 - Soldier and pigs. Short stories collections. Dar Fadaat House. Amman.
2009 - Paris evening. Short stories collections. Dar Fadaat House. Amman.
2010 - Stab (novel) Short stories collections. Dar Fadaat House. Amman. Jordan.
2010. 1.12. The New Yorker magazine wrote about Mahmoud Saeed, it in the following link:
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/01/18/100118crbo_books
-The World Through the Eyes of the Angels, November 2010, published by Syracuse University.
2011- The truck. (novel) Cairo, Egbert, Dar Shams.
2011- The frog's leap. Novel Beirut Lebanon. 2011. Alghawoon publishing house.
2011, The Ghazal's valley. Novel. Amman. Jordon. Arab Institution for Studies and Publishing
2012, Nozzle in space. Novel. East West publishing co. Beirut Lebanon.
2012. Magazine World Literature Today. Been chose the story "Lizards' Colony," for our 2012 Pushcart shortlist. 10.16.2012
2013- (fowha fi Alfadhaa). Aportal in the Space. Beirut Lebanon.
2013- Hunting wild ducks. “sid albatt albarri”
Love and demonstration. Nominated by Brookline rail magazine to pushcart. http://www.brooklynrail.org/2013/05/fiction/love-and-the-demonstration
2014- May 15, The Gild Literary Complex chooses 25 writers from all over Chicago to celebrate 25 anniversary of the Guild Literary Complex.
Awards:
1- Best Short Story: Ominous Gun. Short story. Fata Al Iraq. Mosel. 1957.
2- Rue bin Baraka, a novel, won the Iraqi Ministry of Information Award in 1993.
3- The End of the Day, a novel, won the Story Club award in Egypt in 1996.
4- The Woman Who Triumphed Over the Mongols, a short story, was the winner of the Sheikha Fatima Award in Abu Dhabi in 1999.
5-The World Through the Eyes of the Angels, a novel, won the King Fahd MEST Center for Arabic Literature Translation Award. November 2010.
