Al-Ganuby (The Southerner) by Abla El-Roweyni

Al-Ganuby (The Southerner) by Abla El-Roweyni, Cairo: General Organisation for Cultural Palaces, 2012. 215pp. A biography of the famous poet Amal Donqol (1940-1983), written by his widow Abla El-Roweyni, has been republished as part of the 26th annual literature conference. El-Roweyni examines the life of her husband, known as the Prince of Refusers due to his famous 1976 poem Do Not Reconcile – written just as Egyptian president Sadat was about to sign a peace treaty with Israel – from the perspective of critic, writer and loving wife. The book includes an appendix of poems, including handwritten manuscripts of poems Donqol copied from famous Arab poets, and the first draft of his collection The Horses. El-Roweyni is editor-in-chief of the weekly periodical Akhbar Al-Adab (Literature news).