Ghali Shukri: Journalist, Author, Critic,
Leaves Legacy of Cultural Influence

By Elie Chalala

Ghali Shukri, 63, the editor-in-chief of Al Qahira magazine and considered one of the most prolific authors and critics in Egypt and the Arab world, died in Cairo on May 9, 1998.

Shukri was seriously ill for the last two years due to two strokes, the second of which was severe enough that he withdrew from public intellectual life. Reports indicate he died of complications related to the strokes and other illnesses.

Born in 1935 in the city of Manouf, Egypt, in the district of Manoufia, Shukri's professional career as a critic coincided with a watershed development in Egyptian political life: the overthrow of the monarchy and the introduction of a republican regime in 1952.

In the 1950s, Shukri's politics and ideals proceeded beyond those of President Gamal Abdel Nasser and his fellow free officers, as he embraced the most radical idea of the time, Marxism-Leninism. The youthful Shukri became a Communist, and not merely in the theoretical sense, for he translated ideals into action, earning himself some time in prison in the 1950s and 1960s. Even when he grew older, Shukri did not shy away from political activism. When late Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat adopted policies that hundreds of intellectuals found unacceptable, Shukri reportedly played a key role in convincing large number of writers and artists, including author Toufic al- Hakim, to sign a petition protesting the government's policies. Shukri also opposed religious extremism and terrorism in Egypt.

"In the 1950s, Shukri's politics and ideals proceeded beyond those of President Gamal Abdel Nasser and his fellow free officers, as he embraced the most radical idea of the time, Marxism-Leninism....Touching on sexual issues was taboo during the 1960s, the era in which Shukri wrote 'The Crisis of Sex in the Arabic Novel.' His contribution was appreciated as daring, according to Sabri Hafez"

Shukri is one of the most important critics of the 1960s Arab literary movement, and some attribute this distinction to his academic background. He earned a degree in advanced studies and a Ph.D. from the Sorbonne under the prominent Orientalist professor Jack Burke. Although Shukri attended the most prestigious schools, he opted for careers that took him closer to the ordinary person, choosing journalism over the security of academic life. Journalism was a field close to Shukri's heart; in his last two years, though hindered by pain and illness, he never stopped giving it as much energy as he had. At the time of his death, Shukri was still the editor-in-chief of Al Qahira magazine, a prominent cultural publication.

His career in journalism dates back to the early 1960s. In 1964, Shukri managed Al Shi'r magazine in Egypt, and later worked as a literary critic for Al Ahram daily. Between 1966 and 1973 he was the editor of the Literary Supplement of Al Talia magazine, also in Egypt.

He continued his journalistic career in Lebanon from 1973 to 1976, working for publications such as Al Dastur, Al Balagh, and Al Muharir. Shukri returned to Egypt in the late 1980s, and in 1987, he started writing in Al Ahram. By the early 1990s, he became the editor-in-chief of Al Qahira magazine, his last post.

Shukri's made both professional and financial contributions to journalism. According to press reports, Shukri supported the prestigious journal Adab wa Naqd financially and morally. His commitment to Al Qahira magazine was so significant that under his management it became one of the most important Arab cultural magazines.

Yet he was an academic as well, holding teaching jobs in several Arab and European countries. Between 1976 and 1980, Shukri was a lecturer at the Sorbonne, before returning to Lebanon to teach cultural sociology at the Lebanese University for one year. He then moved to Tunisia, joining the school of journalism in the University of Tunis between 1982 and 1986.

The number of books Shukri wrote varies from one account to another; but it is safe to say that he wrote more than 40, and he published perhaps thousands of articles, many unsigned since he assumed various editorial positions throughout his lifetime. Among the long list of books he wrote are, "Salama Moussa and the Crisis of Conscience" (1962), a book about a famous Egyptian progressive thinker; "The Revolution of Al Mutazil: A Study in the Literature of Toufic al-Hakim" (1968).

Another important book, excerpts of which appeared in the Lebanese journal Hiwar, is "Our Modern Poetry: Where To?" which examines the works of then-leading figures of the free poetry school such as Nazik al-Malai'ka, Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, Abd al-Wahab al-Bayati, Adonis, Salah Abd al-Subur, Ahmad Abd Al Muti Hijazi, Khalil Hawi, Baland al-Haydari, and Unsi al-Hajj, according to an article by Hamdi Abu Jalil in the London-based Arabic daily Al Hayat.

Noted author Zaki Naguib Mahmoud, who did not escape Shukri's criticism, assessed Shukri's work on modern poetry: "I do not recall reading another book about modern poetry in general, and Arabic poetry in particular, that has both the breadth and the depth of thinking as well as the intimacy between the book and the writer, the subject and the researcher, not to mention the ability to judge, clarify and reveal the unknown..."

On Shukri's contributions to poetry, Riyad Naguib al-Rayes, publisher of a now-defunct but important London-based literary Arabic magazine, and owner of a publishing house that carries his name, said, "Shukri remains a source of the sources on modern Arabic poetry and a leading figure and vital authority in establishing the tradition of Arab criticism. Shukri is one of the critics who opened more than one window to Arabic poetry and its criticism."

According to his acquaintances, Shukri set his eyes on ambitious projects. One of those familiar with Shukri is Khayri Shibli, who wrote: "It was clear that he had a great critical project to which he want to dedicate himself till completion, a project which soon became clear and its fruits matured," as quoted in Abu Jalil's feature. Some of those fruits, according to Shibli, included improving the level of achievement in Arabic literature to match the levels of other world literatures, publishing rich and valuable contributions to this literature, and fostering an environment of literary renaissance.

Also familiar with Shukri is Jabber Asfour, a noted critic and leading literary figure. On Shukri's intellectual projects, Asfour is cited by Abu Jalil saying: "Shukri addressed the question of al nahda or Renaissance in his book 'The Arches of Defeat,' and through it he attempted to deconstruct epistemologically the elements of which the formulation of Renaissance consist. The critic [Shukri] says that the Renaissance was formed out of a paradox combining contradictory elements, first the Self and the Other; second, authenticity and the contemporaneous; third, the old and the new; and finally, tradition and modern science. This paradox upon which the Renaissance is based... is the basic issue in Shukri's 'The Arches of Defeat,' which is a continuation of Shukri's doctoral thesis, 'The Renaissance and the Egyptian Intellectual Decline.' Ironically, the Renaissance's formulation... carries within itself the seeds of growth and at the same time the germs for decline."

Touching on sexual issues was taboo during the 1960s, the era in which Shukri wrote "The Crisis of Sex in the Arabic Novel." His contribution was appreciated as daring, according to Sabri Hafez, a professor of Arabic literature. As cited in Abu Jalil's article, Hafez commented that "Shukri produced the first study of its kind in the history of Arab criticism, offering a methodological way to treat one of the most important aspects at the artistic level, monitoring the different means of addressing this issue (the sexual relationship) in the works of Arab writers, and attempting to move Arab criticism toward independence in its artistic and intellectual structure."

Shukri's most controversial book, according to Issam Abdallah's feature article in Al Hayat, is "Al Nahda wa al Suqut fi al Fikr al Masri al Hadith" [The Rebirth and Decline in Modern Egyptian Thought] (Beirut: Dar Al Talia, 1978). Abdallah claims that Shukri's usage of the theme "decline" associated with the theme "rebirth" distinguishes this book, as this concept is foreign to the literature of al nahda [the Renaissance] in contemporary Arab political thought. Until then al nahda connoted only the theme of "rebirth." Al nahda, which began in the 19th century, carried, according to Shukri, the elements of its decline because "it did not succeed in establishing a social and economic base capable of protecting it, and thus it became prone to decline, where periods of decline surpassed by far those of al nahda or renaissance." The other face of the coin is "decline," which continuously coincided with renaissance, "even when it had meager accomplishments during the Nasser regime, achievements soon failed and al nahda again collapsed into what we witness now," writes Abdallah.

The equation on which al nahda is based, continues Abdallah, is one of dualities like tradition and modernity or Islam and the West. These "alleged dualities are based on a reconciliatory equation" as opposed to a synthetic one, and as a result, "reconciliation ceased to be able to protect al nahda, and then the conciliatory equation collapsed with al nahda's decline."

Although steeped in Western culture, Shukri would not uncritically accept any European-based concepts. In the introduction to his book, Shukri gave his attention to the questions of research in contemporary Arab thought, and more specifically to borrowed concepts, which are forcibly applied in an environment other than that in which they were introduced, a practice that often leads to either pre-determined or contradictory results. "We use the term 'class' in a figurative sense at times, and often ambiguously, and this is one of the reasons behind the underdevelopment of our social sciences... The desert, pasture, tribe, clan, agriculture, rivers and oil, all formed our societies," says Shukri, as cited by Abdallah. Shukri finds it simplistic to describe these societies exclusively by class, especially when some speak of feudalism in a country that has not known agriculture, and of the bourgeoisie where no factory exits.

The following is a partial list of books by Ghali Shukri. "The Literature of Resistance," (1970) in reference to Palestinian literature; "Tradition and Revolution" (1973); "Arab Modern Criticism" (year?); "The Dictatorship of Egyptian Backwardness" (1986); "The Crisis of Sex in the Arabic Novel" (1962), published in Beirut; "Al Muntami" [The Belonging], a study of the literature of Naguib Mahfouz; "The Long Night" (novel) (year?); "The Meaning of Tragedy in the Arab Novel" (1971); "What Remained of Taha Hussein?" (1974); "Ghada Saman Without Wings" (1977); "Marxism and Literature" (1979); "The Copts in a Changing Nation" (year?); "Memoirs of a Dying Culture" (1970); "Memoirs of the Lost Generation" (1972); "The Wedding of Blood in Lebanon" (1975), a work that explores the Lebanese Civil War; "The Counter Revolution in Egypt" (1978); and "The Arches of Defeat" (1989).BThe Editors

This article appeared in Al Jadid, Vol. 4, No. 23 ( Spring 1998)
Copyright © 1998 by Al Jadid