1 - 7 February 2001
Issue No.519
|
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 1 - 7 February 2001 Issue No.519 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Vicious circle
That group of friends of mine, the Harafish [named after Mahfouz's novel about the marginalised underclass, The Riffraff], used to meet, first, in a café overlooking the Nile, opposite what was to become President Sadat's residence. At that time, this area was almost entirely abandoned, and we would sit in a circle on the grass with the Nile directly before us, talking for hours, discussing our troubles to no end.
This is how we eventually came to refer to that place as the Vicious Circle, because of the circle in which we usually sat, but more importantly because we spoke of nothing but our frustration at that time. Political conditions were very painful prior to the Revolution, beset by corruption, bribery and political fumbling against the backdrop of the British occupation. It all weighed heavily on us; moreover, nobody had any genuine sympathy for us or understood our situation, which carried the collective frustration into our personal lives.
Of the Harafish, many subsequently stopped writing or emigrated. The reason I stayed is that I liked writing more than I liked what it seemed apt to give rise to: money and fame. If these things came along, it would be wonderful. But I functioned mostly as if they had already come, because my true happiness and joy were in the writing itself.
Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page