Rashid Al-Daif
Encyclopedia
Rashid Al-Daif (or Rasheed Al-Daif, Rachid El-Daïf, Rachid El-Daif) is a Lebanese author
, writing in Arabic
. He has been translated into many languages, including French
, English
, Spanish
, Portuguese
, Polish
, Swedish
, Dutch
, Italian
, Greek
and Japanese.
in Ehden
, near Zgharta
, Lebanon in 1945. He studied Arabic literature at the Lebanese University
in Beirut
, going on to do two doctorates in Paris. Since 1974 he had been teaching Arabic literature at the Lebanese University.
He has been referred to as "the Arab world's answer to Italo Calvino or Umberto Eco"
Margaret Drabble pays tribute to her long-standing friendship to Al-Daif and his wife in her contribution to the 2006 book "Lebanon, Lebanon".
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, writing in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
. He has been translated into many languages, including French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and Japanese.
Biography
Rashid Al-Daif was born into a Christian Maronite familyin Ehden
Ehden
Ehden is a mountainous town situated in the heart of the northern mountains of Lebanon and on the southwestern slopes of Mount Makmal and Kornet el Sawda, the highest peak in Lebanon...
, near Zgharta
Zgharta
Zgharta, or Zghorta is a large town in North Lebanon, with an estimated population of around 70,000.Zgharta is about 150 metres above sea level and lies between the rivers of Jouit and Rashein...
, Lebanon in 1945. He studied Arabic literature at the Lebanese University
Lebanese University
The Lebanese University is the only public institution for higher learning in Lebanon. Founded in 1951, it has 17 faculties as of 2006 and serves various cultural, religious, and social groups of students and teachers....
in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, going on to do two doctorates in Paris. Since 1974 he had been teaching Arabic literature at the Lebanese University.
He has been referred to as "the Arab world's answer to Italo Calvino or Umberto Eco"
Margaret Drabble pays tribute to her long-standing friendship to Al-Daif and his wife in her contribution to the 2006 book "Lebanon, Lebanon".