Ahmad Ali El Zein

Ahmad Ali El Zein
Born	(1955-03-05) March 5, 1955 Akkar Al Atika, Lebanon
Occupation	Novelist, Television and Radio Host, Journalist.
Language	Arabic
Nationality	Lebanese
Genre	Novels, TV Documentaries
Notable works	The Edge of Oblivion
Spouse	Nada Tahsaladar
Children	Ali El Zein, Kifah El Zein, Bashar El Zein

Ahmad Ali El Zein (born 1956), is a Lebanese novelist, screen-writer, and journalist. He started as a journalist, and wrote many non-fiction works and cultural essays, but is best known for his novels, such as Edge of oblivion (2007), Suhbat al-Tayer 2010 and Barid al-Ghouroub (2014).

Biography

Ahmad Ali El Zein was born on the 5th, March 1956 in the village of Akar al-Atika, north Lebanon, to Ali El-Zein and Fatima al-Mohamad. He grew up in a rural and pastoral environment, a peaceful and archaic milieu lying on the Lebanese northern mountains of Akkar amid thick woods of fir, pine and oak.

He studied Music and Theatre at the Lebanese University, Beirut. One of his plays, Ru'ya [Vision], was staged at the UNESCO theatre in Beirut in 2000. He wrote Al-Tayoun (1988), Khirbat al-Niwah (1992), Ma'bar al-Alam (1998) and Hafat al-Nisyan (2007)[The Edge of Oblivion], the first volume of his trilogy Thulathiyat Abdul Jalil Ghazal, excerpted in Banipal 32, Sohbat al-Tayer (2011), Barid al-Ghouroub (2014).

He lives between Beirut and Dubai, where he is a presenter for Al-Arabiyya TV’s Rowafid [Profiles] programme, interviewing cultural and artistic celebrities.

The Edge of Oblivion

The first volume of a trilogy about fictional hero Abdul Jalil Ghazal – whom we meet limping from the ruins of an intolerable desert prison, continually sucked back into his dark and horrifying memories as he tries to make sense of his present predicament.

Media and Journalism

Ahmad Ali El Zein began his career in journalism in 1978, writing editorials for the cultural page of “al-Nida” newspaper, and then he cooperated with a “number of other Lebanese and Arab newspapers and magazines such “Annahar”, “Assafir”, “al-Hayat” “Zahrat al-Khalij" publishing varieties of cultural chronicles and editorials.

In 1986 He participated in the establishment of “Sawt al-Sha’b”, a radio station broadcasting in Lebanon, which climbed to top ranking in audience rating few years later after its establishment. Beside being programming director of “Radio Sawt al-Sha’b” he produced, wrote and presented dozens of radio comedies and political commentatory shows.

For television He realized documentary films (1992–1994) portraying contemporary Lebanese artists, singers, musicians, writers, poets, etc. for “Tele Liban”. From 1997 to 2000 He contributed to the redaction and production of several episodes of the talk show host program “Hiwar al-Omor” presented by Gisel Khoury and broadcast on “Lbc Channel”. On Abu Dhabi TV in 2001-2003 he edited and directed “Qiraat”, a program presenting latest and most important books. he also wrote, edited and directed a series of short documentaries portraying celebrities of the 20th century such Zakariyya Ahmad, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Asmahan, Oum Kalthoum, Abdel Halim Hafez, Farid al-Atrash, Laila Murad, Mohamed El Qasabgi, Fairuz, etc.

Currently he is editor producer and presenter of “Rawafed”, a talk show host program, broadcast on “Al Arabiya”. Rawafed is one of the most watched TV programs, awarded the golden prize for the best cultural and educational program at the 10th edition of the Gulf Media Festival.

List of works=

Novels

• "Al-Tayoun", 1988
• "Khirbat al-Nawah", 1992
• "Ma'bar al-Nadam", 1998
• "Hafat al-Nisyan", 2007
• "Suhbat al-Tayr", 2010
• "Barid al-Ghorub", 2014

Sources

• Aplin, Thomas (2008), "Excerpt from The Edge of Oblivion Part One of The Trilogy of Abdul Jalil Ghazal", Banipal Magazine of Modern Arab Literature, no. 32.

External links

• [2]
• Banipal: Excerpt from The Edge of Oblivion Translated by Thomas Aplin