Humphrey T. Davies

Humphrey T. Davies is a translator of Arabic fiction, historical and classical texts.[1] Born in Great Britain, he studied Arabic in college and graduate school. He has worked for decades in the Arab world and been based in Cairo since the late 20th century. He has translated at least 18 Arabic works into English, including contemporary literature.[1] He is a two-time winner of the Banipal Prize.[2]

Humphrey T. Davies
NationalityBritish
Occupationtranslator
Notable work
The Yacoubian Building, from Alaa Al Aswany's ʿImārat Yaʿqūbīān

Biography

Born in Great Britain, Humphrey Davies studied Arabic at Cambridge University and the American University in Cairo's Centre for Arabic Studies Abroad (CASA) in the 1960s.[1][3] After working in the Arabic world and as a translator for years, he completed a PhD in Arabic in 1981 at the University of California, Berkeley.[1][2]

Davies has worked for NGOs and funding institutions in a number of countries in the Arab world, including Save the Children in Palestine and the Ford Foundation in Sudan. He began translating in 1997. Since the early 21st century, he has focused solely on literary translation.[1][3]

Translations

Davies has translated both classical and colloquial Arabic texts and has noted in particular his "respect for colloquial Arabic."[3] He worked in collaboration on the El-Said Badawi Dictionary of Egyptian Arabic.[3] Davies began translating while working on a critical edition and lexicon of Yusuf al-Shirbini's Hazz al-Quhuf bi-Sharh Qasid Abi Shaduf (Brains Confounded by the Ode of Abu Shaduf Expounded), a 17th-century Egyptian text on Ottoman rural culture. This is considered a valuable source for the period's colloquial Egyptian Arabic.[1][2]

Davies' first published translation was a short story by Sayed Ragab, which appeared in Banipal magazine in 2000.[2] Since then, he has translated several well-known works of Arabic literature, including Alaa Al-Aswany's The Yacoubian Building (Arabic: عمارة يعقوبيان‎, ʿImārat Yaʿqūbīān, 2002). His 2004 translation was voted one of 50 outstanding translations in the last 50 years by the British Society of Authors. His translation of Lebanese writer Elias Khoury's novel Gate of the Sun (Arabic: باب الشمس‎, Bab al-shams), won the English PEN "Writers in Translation" award and the Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation.[1]

Davies says that when he translates the work of a living author, he makes it his practice to call upon the author for advice.[1] His work has been published by AUC Press, Words Without Borders, and Banipal.

Other translations include:[1][2]

  • Thebes at War, a novel by Naguib Mahfouz
  • Friendly Fire, a collection of short stories by Alaa Al-Aswany
  • Being Abbas el Abd by Ahmed Alaidy
  • Pyramid Texts by Gamal al-Ghitani
  • The Mahfouz Dialogues by Gamal al-Ghitani
  • Black Magic by Hamdy el-Gazzar
  • Tales of Dayrut by Mohamed Mustagab
  • Life Is More Beautiful Than Paradise by Khaled al-Berry
  • Yalo, a novel by Elias Khoury (British edition, winner of the Banipal Prize)
  • Sunset Oasis, a novel by Bahaa Taher (joint runner-up for the Banipal Prize)
  • As Though She Were Sleeping by Elias Khoury
  • Midaqq Alley, a novel by Naguib Mahfouz
  • Leg Over Leg (Al-Saq ‘ala al-Saq) by Ahmad Faris Shidyaq

Awards and honours
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References
  1. Tresilian, David (12 Jan 2012). "Davies: translator of Arabic literature". Al-Ahram Weekly. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  2. "Humphrey Davies". Banipal Magazine of Modern Literature. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  3. Lindsey, Ursula (11 Feb 2010). "Crossing the language divide". Egyptian Independent. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  4. Chad W. Post (April 14, 2014). "2014 Best Translated Book Awards: Fiction Finalists". Three Percent. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
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