The BA Celebrates Naguib Mahfouz and Preserves Part of his Collection
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Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz has been chosen as the Personality of the 57th Cairo International Book Fair, coinciding with his 20th death anniversary, and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina's celebration of him, stressing his unique status in the history of Arabic literature and his lasting influence on Egyptian and global cultural awareness.
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina played a prominent role in the cultural events held on the sidelines of the Fair, with the Library Director Dr. Ahmed Abdallah Zayed taking part in a seminar entitled “The Question of Identity in Naguib Mahfouz's Literature,” stating that the issue of identity in the late writer’s work is highly complex, as it is an internal feeling shaped by one's connection to time and place.
In the same context, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina has dedicated a permanent corner on the first basement level (B1 – Main Reading Area) to the valuable donations made by his daughter, Ms. Umm Kulthum, to the Library in March 2024, as a tribute to the legacy of the late Nobel Prize-winning writer. It comprises a number of his possessions, as well as his private library of nearly 2,400 books, ranging from his novels in different languages to dictionaries and encyclopedias that he acquired or were gifted to him, which he kept in his home.
The centerpiece of the corner is a bust of the Nobel laureate, along with a number of personal photographs and belongings, including his pens, his rosary, the hearing aids he used in his later years, and letters from Presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat, and Hosni Mubarak.