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THE 75th anniversary of Salah Jahin gave way to numerous commemorative activities last week; notably, except for the few opening pages, the well-known literary weekly Akhbar Al-Adab devoted the whole issue to various facets of his achievement. Jahin started writing in 1959, having wholeheartedly embraced the July Revolution in the wake of the nationalisation of the Suez Canal in 1956 -- he had initially been sceptical about it -- also the point at which he began to sing the praises of Gamal Abdel-Nasser, acting as the mouthpiece of the regime.
Vernacular poet, screenwriter and journalist, Jahin's contribution as a man of letters was seminal. Till the end of his life he worked at Rose El-Youssef, edited Sabah Al-Kheir and contributed to the best known publications of the day, Al-Ahram included. As actor, critic and multidimensional talent, his work spanned the entire cultural spectrum. He collaborated with, among others, Youssef Chahine, Umm Kulthoum, Abdel-Halim Hafez and Soad Hosni. His cartoons and radio broadcast quatrains were eagerly awaited by young and old alike. A deeply influential figure, Jahin was also a household name.
Jahin died in April 1986 following an extended depression resulting, in part, from Sadat's rise to power and its consequences for the nationalist-cum-socialist project Nasser had espoused.
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