Mahmud Bayram al-Tunisi
Mahmud Bayram al-Tunisi (1893, Alexandria, Egypt - 1961), was an Egyptian poet who was exiled from Egypt by the British for his nationalist poetry.
Bayram al-Tunisi received his education at religious (Muslim) schools. However, he learned the art of poetry by listening to oral presentations in the form known as zajal. In 1919, he began to publish his poetry in the journal Issues. These satirical ballads, based on the traditional zajal form, were critical of both the British occupation and the Egyptian monarchy, which was referred to as a puppet. This led to his exile from Egypt, which he spent in France and Tunisia. Bayram alTunisi returned to Egypt in 1938, where he continued to publish political poetry.
Bayram al-Tunisi coined the term Adab al-iscrif (the literature of rescue) to describe "the successful rejection of external threats, the reorientation and redistribution of power in society, and construction of a strong and independent nation." [1]
In addition to zajal, of which Bayram al-Tunisi was considered a master[2], he was proficient with maqama whch he preferred in much of his later outpu. Among those that were influenced by Bayram al-Tunisi were Salah Jahin and Ahmad Fu'ad Nigm.
Notes
References
- Booth, Marilyn L.(1990) Bayram al-Tunisi's Egypt: Social Criticism and Narrative Strategies (St. Antony's Middle East Monographs no. 22) Ithaca Press, Exeter, UK , ISBN 0-86372-088-9
- Beinin, Joel (1994) "Writing Class: Workers and Modern Egyptian Colloquial Poetry (Zajal)" Poetics Today 15(2): pp. 191-215
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