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Tayeb Salih

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 76.68.72.151 (talk) at 18:51, 26 February 2009 (bbc article was the 18th, but it seems he died the previous day). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Tayeb Salih
OccupationNovelist, Columnist
Notable worksSeason of Migration to the North موسم الهجرة إلي الشمال

Tayeb Salih or Al-Tayyib Salih (Arabic: الطيّب صالح) (1929 – 17 February 2009[1]) was a Sudanese writer. Born in the Northern Province of Sudan, he studied at the University of Khartoum before leaving for the University of London in England. Coming from a background of small farmers and religious teachers, his original intention was to work in agriculture. Except, however, for a brief spell as a schoolmaster before coming to England, his working life was in broadcasting.

His works are generally political, dealing with themes such as colonization and gender. Salih was also considered one of the best short story writers working in Arabic today.[citation needed] Having studied both western and Arab literature, philosophy, and society, Salih intermingles aspects of both cultures in his works.

Salih achieved immediate acclaim when his novel Season of Migration to the North was first published in Arabic, in Beirut in the late 1960s. In 2001, this was declared "the most important Arabic novel of the 20th century" by the Syrian-based Arab Literary Academy in Damascus.[2] His works have been translated from Arabic into more than 20 languages.

Salih completed three other novels and a collection of short stories. His novella "The Wedding of Zein" was made into a drama in Libya and a Cannes Festival prize-winning film by the Kuwaiti filmmaker Khalid Siddiq in the late 1970s.

For more than ten years Salih wrote a weekly column for the London-based Arabic language newspaper, "al Majalla," in which he explored various literary themes. He has worked for the BBC's Arabic Service, and later became director general of the Ministry of Information in Doha, Qatar. He spent the last 10 years of his working career with UNESCO in Paris, where he held various posts and was finally UNESCO's representative in the Gulf States.

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ OBIT: Tayeb Salih (1929-2009) H-Net
  2. ^ "Sudan novelist Tayeb Salih dies". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
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