Name Arif Khudairi | Role Poet | |
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Books Love Poems of Arif Khudairi | ||
El lenguaje del amor (Arif Khudairi, Egipto)
Arif Karkhi Abukhudairi Mahmoud, better known as Arif Khudairi, (born 30 May 1948) is an Egyptian poet, novelist, folklorist, and translator.
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Biography
Khudairi was born in Luxor and grew up in Aswan, a little town in the southern part of Egypt. In 1966 he attended the Faculty of Arts at the University of Cairo where he studied at the Department of Arabic Language and Literature.
Having graduated with a degree in Arabic from Faculty of Art, University of Cairo in 1970, Khudairi worked as a school teacher for nine years. An M.A. degree in 1978 was followed by a spell of teaching in South Korea as well as lecturing and working as an interpreter for the Korean Broadcasting System in Seoul. In 1981 Khudairi left for the USA where he taught at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This was followed by three years in Malaysia. On his return to Egypt, he completed his PhD. dissertation on Al-Mutanabbi, generally recognized as the greatest classical Arab poet of the 10th century. In 1990 he left for Brunei Darussalam where he has taught Arabic literature at the Institute of Islamic Studies(1990-1999), the University of Brunei Darussalam (1999-2007),and Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (2007-2013).
Writings
Khudairi wrote books of poems, fairy tales, literary translations, essays, and many other writings. He writes primarily in Arabic and English, frequently translating his works into both languages himself.(Rafizah Abdullah,Diwan Flimanku,2009,pp. 63–71).
His poetry moves from alienation and longing, as in Dreams of the Wandering Bird, to the celebration of love and nature, as in Love Poems of Arif Khudairi (2011), to universal themes of love and divinity, as in Trees Leaves (1998), to peace and universal harmony, as in The Abode of Peace (2008), to Sufism and spirituality, as in Divine Lake (2013)(Ahmad Haggagi, Ahlam Al- Ta'ir Al- Jawwal,1995,pp. 8–11, Jonathan Grimes, Trees Leaves, 1998, ppxi-xii, Hashim Awang, Abode of Peace, 2008, pp.vii-xii, Mahir Shafiq Farid, The Rubaiyat of Arif Khudairi,p. 15).
His novella The Eighth Voyage of Sindbad (1999) is a symbolic narrative of good versus evil, altruism versus selfishness, of materialism versus spirituality.
In his Arabic tales collections, he rewrote stories that revolve around traditional Arabic folk tales and legends, linking ancient myth to the modern values and standards of the Arab people. His short stories deal with various themes. Luxor: The City of Hundred Gates (1982) is a semi-autobiographical story. The Philosopher (1983) is a story of Mat, a poor old man who reflects profound philosophical views about life. Departure (1984) is about unrequited love. Homecoming (1993), examines psychological observations recorded by an Arab immigrant returning to his native land. Night Flight (2000) is a comical story taking place in a small hospital. The Lazy (2001) presents a monologue of a middle-aged man. Born a Lover (2002), recounts confessions of a modern day Don Juan.
Khudairi is also a translator, and translated into Arabic eight Korean, Malaysian, Bruneian, Pakistani, English, and American books of poems. He wrote biographies of the poets such Kim So-wol (1984), Muhammad Iqbal (2004), and Shukri Zain (2006).