Ismael: Founding father of Kuwaiti novel - Arab · PDF fileThe roving ambassador of Arabic...
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ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017 25 Irish author first novelist to win Costa prize twice The roving ambassador of Arabic culture SEAL who says he killed bin Laden has book deal Ismael: Founding father of Kuwaiti novel NEW YORK, Feb 1, (Agencies): The Navy SEAL who has said he fired the shots that killed Osama bin Laden has a memoir coming out this spring. Scribner told The Associated Press on Tues- day that Robert O’Neill’s “The Operator” will be published April 25. According to Scribner, O’Neill’s book will “vividly recount” a career that included some 400 missions, notably the May 2011 raid on bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. O’Neill also was on the missions that helped rescue Capt. Richard Phillips from Somali pirates and SEAL Marcus Luttrell from Afghanistan. In a statement issued through Scribner, O’Neill said he wanted to show “the human side” of the battles fought for the country worldwide. “They are extraordinary people, but they are also normal and I was proud to serve with them,” he said. “I also wanted to show that it is possible to do anything you want, no matter where you are from, as long as you work hard, avoid negativity and never quit.” O’Neill first alleged that he had killed bin Laden in 2014, an announcement that the government has neither affirmed nor disputed. Around the same time, the head of Naval Special Warfare Command issued a letter criti- cizing violations of the SEAL “ethos” against self-promotion. “A critical tenant of our ethos is ‘I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions,’” wrote Rear Adm. Brian Losey. “Our ethos is a life-long commitment and obligation, both in and out of the service. Violators of our ethos are neither teammates in good standing, nor teammates who represent Naval Special Warfare.” Another SEAL on the bin Laden mission, Matthew Bissonnette, wrote the best-selling “No Easy Day” in 2012. Completed under the pseudonym “Mark Owen,” the book of- fered a detailed accounting of the raid but did not identify by name the SEAL who killed bin Laden. Bissonnette was threatened with prison for not clearing his manuscript with the Pentagon and last year agreed to pay the gov- ernment millions of dollars for back earnings and legal fees. A Scribner spokesman said the Pentagon has cleared O’Neill’s book. O’Neill is the recipient of numerous honors, including two Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars with Valor and a Joint Service Commenda- tion Medal with Valor. His book, Scribner announced, “will offer powerful stories about — and new insights into — our war against terror, and will capture the fierce and unique brotherhood among SEALs — many of whom spend up to 300 days away from their families and rely on team members for their survival.” ❑ ❑ ❑ Irish writer Sebastian Barry on Tuesday became the first novelist to scoop the Costa Book of the Year award twice, with his por- trayal of an 1850s gay relationship between US soldiers. “Days Without End” was the judges’ unani- mous choice for Barry’s “searing, magnificent and incredibly moving description of how the West was won”, said the award chair Kate Williams. The novel follows the relationship of two young men fighting for the US army, as they journey from Wyoming to Tennessee. Collecting his £30,000 ($38,000, 35,000 euros) prize at a ceremony in London, Barry said he was thrilled with the win. “You have made me crazy happy from the top of my head to my toes in a way that is a little bit improper at 61,” said the author. Barry previously won the Costa Book of the Year award in 2008 for his novel “The Secret Scripture”. While he is the first novelist to take the prize on two occasions, poets Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes have each won twice. Williams praised the “beautiful characterisa- tions and brilliant writing” of this year’s win- ner, explaining Barry chose to write about the same-sex relationship between the two soldiers after the author’s son came out as gay. The award is open to authors living in Brit- ain and Ireland and attracted 596 entries for the 2017 prize, five of which were shortlisted. Last year the award was picked up by Frances Hardinge for “The Lie Tree”, a 19th- century detective novel. Also: NEW YORK: A former special agent who once helped capture the Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo is working on a book. HarperCollins told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the Drug Enforcement Adminis- tration official, writing under the pseudonym “Cole Merrell,” was collaborating with author Douglas Century on “Hunting El Chapo.” The book is scheduled to come out Oct 17. Century’s previous books include “Barney Ross” and “Street Kingdom.” According to the publisher, “Hunting El Chapo” will offer a “cinematically” detailed take on the investigation and eventual capture of Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman-Loera in 2014. El Chapo escaped in 2015, was recap- tured last year and was extradited to the US earlier this month. ❑ ❑ ❑ NEW YORK: Ohio Gov John Kasich, a prominent Republican detractor of President Donald Trump, has a book deal. Thomas Dunne Books says Tuesday that Kasich’s “Two Paths: America Divided or United” will be published April 25. The book will reflect on Kasich’s career, his run for the presidency and his views on a wide range of issues, from media coverage of politics to voting rights. The 64-year-old Kasich was a leading com- petitor to Trump in the GOP primary race and declined to endorse Trump after he clinched the nomination. The two have continued to feud, with Kasich calling Trump’s recent im- migration executive order “ham-handed,” and Trump supporting a contender for state party chair in Ohio who defeated a Kasich backer for the job. By Bader Abu Raghabah Al-Otaibi Kuwaiti Freelance Journalist Special to the Arab Times I smael Fahad Ismael is a veteran Kuwaiti litterateur, novelist, short story writer, playwright and literary critic. He is a writ- er of greater eminence in Arabic literature with an amazing prolificacy through his numerous outstanding novels, short sto- ries, plays as well as critical studies. He was born in 1940 at the village of Al-Sebiliyat in Abu Al-Khasseeb town in Al-Basra province, south of Iraq to a Kuwaiti father and Iraqi mother. He hails from Zubairi family came from Najd in Saudi Arabia. He completed his schooling in Iraq and gained a bachelor’s degree in literature and criticism in 1979 from the Higher Institute for Theatre Arts in Ku- wait where he worked in teaching at one of its government schools. In his more than half-century creative literary journey, Ismael has thirty seven publications (37) to his credit which in- clude twenty six novels (26), one novella (1), two collections of short stories (2), three plays (3) and five studies (5). Ismael was interested in writing fiction at an early age, and his debut short story collection entitled Al-Bughaah Al-Da- kinah (The dark spot) was published in 1965. Though he was released his second collection of short stories titled Al-Agh- fass Wal Lughah Al-Mushtarakah (The cages and the common language) in 1974, his attention was already shifted to novels. His first novel titled Kanat Al-Samaa Zarghaa (The sky was blue) has been published in 1970, and its introduction was written by Salah Abdul Saboor, the late famous Egyptian poet and here is an excerpt from it: “It was a surprise for me, and this is the novel of twentieth century which came from the far east of Arabia.” That novel was banned in Iraq and Syria due to its storyline which had been based on a military coup incident in Iraq and the running away of soldiers. The compilation was the first volume of this fourfold book and the other three subsequent published novels are: Al-Mustanghaat Al-Dhawei- yah (The photic swamps) (1971), Al-Habl (The rope) (1972) and Al-Dhifaf Al-Okhra (The other shores) (1973). Published In 1975, he released his novel Malaf Al- Hadithah 67 (The file of case 67) which explores the troubled psyche of an inno- cent expatriate Palestinian who has been investigated for nothing in Kuwait. And in that year, Ismael has also published his novel Al-Shaiyah, where its title named after a small Lebanese town which was witnessed to a genocide and mass atroci- ties during the ongoing civil war there. The alienation and falsity of relation- ships among the friends were the central themes of his novel Al-toiyoor Wal As- dighaa (The birds and the friends) which was published in 1979. He dealt successfully with various complex aspects of human life to reflect the reality of Kuwaiti society at that time in his novel Khutwah Fee Al-Hulom (A move in the dream) which was released in 1980. His trilogy which its title derived from the name of Nile river in Arabic language, was a breath of fresh air in Arabic fiction due to its authentic subjects such as his- tory, heritage, traditions, politics as well as love story of course, and its events pres- ent the bewildering variety of sight and sounds of the old city of Cairo, the capital of Egypt and starting from 17th century South till the end 1980s. The three parts of published collection are namely: Al-Neel Yajri Shamalan: Al-Bidaiyat (The Nile flows north: The beginnings) (1983), Al- Neel Yajri Shamalan: Al-Nawatteer (The Nile flows north: The gatekeepers) (1984) and Al-Neel Al-Ttam Al-Raehah (The Nile, the taste, the smell) (1989). After the liberation of Kuwait in Febru- ary 1991, Ismael left his own country to the Philippines, his self-imposed exile where he spent five of his years there. Then, he started writing his novel entitled Ihdathiyaat Zaman Al-Ozlah (coordi- (1937-1987), the late famous Palestinian cartoonist who was lived in Kuwait at the previous time period, as well as it deals with Al-Badoon’s issue those who have no rights because they are non-Kuwaiti citi- zens and who live in Kuwait without any nationality. This novel has been titled Fee Hadhrat Al-Anghaa Wal Khil Al-Wafi (In the presence of the phoenix and the loyal friend) (2014), and has been nominated on the long list for the 2015 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (Arabic Booker Prize). His last novel seems to be a wonderful blend between poetry and fictional biogra- phy on the life story of the late legendary Nabati poet Ibn Laboon (1791-1831) who was born in Saudi Arabia (Najd), lived in Iraq (Al-Basra) and died in Kuwait. The novel was published in 2015 under the title Al-Dhuhoor Al-Thani Le Ibn Laaboon (The second appearance of Ibn Laaboon). Finally in terms of novelistic career, Ismael latest novel’s Al-Sebiliyat was published in 2015 and its title has been derived from his birthplace, the village of Al-Sebiliyat in Iraq as a part of his biog- raphy through the story of an old woman called Om Ghassem, the main character and her relationship with a donkey which reflect the value of home at the end. Passion As long as, Ismael has wanted to be a film maker since his childhood but his financial circumstances always prevented him to fulfill that eternal dream. May be this passion turned him later to the theatre and led him to became a talented play- wright. His debut play Al-Nass (The text) was published in 1982 and staged in Bahrain where his second play entitled Al-Aardh Lam Yabda (The show did not start) (2003) was staged there too, and his last play is Lel Hadath Baghiyah Ibn Zaiydoon (The event has a sequel, Ibn Zaiydoon) which was published in 2008. As a literary critic, he has published five studies on different themes such as the Kuwaiti short story, the late Kuwaiti poet Ali Al-Sabti, the Kuwaiti litterateur and novelist Laila Al-Othman and other experiences for some Arab writers. And these books were released under the fol- lowing titles: Al-ghissah Al-Arabiyah Fee Al-Kuwait (The Arabic story in Kuwait) (1977), Al-Fiel Al-Dirami Wa Nagheedhuhu (The dramatic action and its antithesis) (1978), Ali Al-Sabti: Shaaeron Fee Al-Hawaa Al-Talgh (Ali Al-Sabti: A poet in open air) (2002), Ma Taalamatuhu Al-Shajarah Laila Al-Othman (What the tree, Laila Al-Othman has learned) (2005) and Mubdeoon Mughaiyeroon: Kalimaat Mughaamerah (Contrasting creatives: Ad- venturous writings) (2006), respectively. In addition to his many contributions to Arabic literature and commonly known by his honorific titles such as the roving am- bassador of Arabic culture or the sheikh of Gulf novelists. Ismael has also earned the respect of the entire Kuwaiti modern literary sphere for playing a very crucial torch-bearer’s role in discovering, nurtur- ing and promoting young literary talents in his own country from the middle of 1960s. Ismael Fahad Ismael considers himself an experimental writer, and he has been outspoken about his early life in Iraq, his works and influences on his works which some of them have been translated into several foreign languages such as English, French, German, Russian, Spanish and Italian. He has been conferred with many awards include the incentivizing state award in 1989 for his novel Al-Neel Al-Ttam Al-Raehah (The Nile, the taste, the smell), and he also was awarded the incentivizing state award in 2002 for his contribution to Kuwaiti literature and Ara- bic criticism, for his critical book entitled Ali Al-Sabti: Shaaeron Fee Al-Hawaa Al-Talgh (Ali Al-Sabti: A poet in open air), as well as he is the recipient of the Sultan Bin Ali Al-Oais Cultural Founda- tion Award in 2014. Unfortunately, Ismael Fahad Ismael once said that he failed to write his auto- biography. nates of the time of isolation) which was published in 1995. This work derived from the writer’s experience as a resistant citizen during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (Iraq-Kuwait war) in August 1990 until the liberation of Kuwait in February 1991, and is considered the longest novel ever written in Arabic. It has been serialized in seven parts (sevenfold book) which were published under the following titles: Al-Shams Fee Burj Al-Hoot (The Sun in the Pisces) (1996), Al-Haiyatu Wajhun Akhr (The life is another face) (1996), Ghaidu Al-Ashiyaa (The bond of things) (1996), Dawaer Al-Istihaalaat (The circles of impossibility) (1996),Thakirat Al-Hud- hoor (The memory of presence) (1996), Al-Ababiliyoon (1996) and Al-Assf (The blast) (1996). Ismael has published his novel titled Baaedan Ela Huna (Far away..to here) in 1997, which revolves around the alien- ation of Srilankan housemaid named Kumari and her Kuwaiti sponsor (Kafeel) who called Saud. Style His political novel entitled Yahdithu Amss (It happens yesterday) was also published in 1997 by which he has intro- duced the old relations between Basra (in Iraq) and Kuwait through a unique style to add a new dimension to the Arabic novel, breaking new ground in the literary vista. Ismael’s historical novel named Al- Kaaenu Al-Dhil (The shadow organism) was released in 1999, and revolves around the thievish journey of Hamdoon Ibn Hamdi, one of the most famous Arabian bandits in the old city of Baghdad. In 2000, The dramatic novel of Ismael Fahad Ismal, Samaa Naaeiyah (A remote sky) has been published as a cumulative social aggregations on Kuwaiti people due to the effects of war (Iraq-Kuwait) and liberation of Kuwait in February 1991. His only novella in terms of its literary genre, has been published in 2010 under the title Mesk (Musk), and through it, the writer deals with social issue based on the story of separation between a Kuwaiti married couple who were divorced laterly and their alienation at many terminals like Athens in Greece and Berlin in Germany after September 11 attacks. Toiyoor Al-Taaji (Al-Taji’s birds), one of his creative novelistic works which was published in 2014, and he narrated the bitter agonies of three Kuwaiti captives who were jailed in Al-Taaji, the notorious Iraqi camp during the Invasion of Kuwait period. In the same year, Ismael has also published a part of his autobiographical novel about his close friend Naji Al-Ali Kuwaiti litterateur Ismael Fahad Ismael and some of the book covers of his works. Bader Al-Otaibi
Transcript of Ismael: Founding father of Kuwaiti novel - Arab · PDF fileThe roving ambassador of Arabic...
ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017
25
Irish author first novelist to win Costa prize twice
The roving ambassador of Arabic culture
SEAL who says he killed bin Laden has book deal
Ismael: Founding father of Kuwaiti novel
NEW YORK, Feb 1, (Agencies): The Navy SEAL who has said he fired the shots that killed Osama bin Laden has a memoir coming out this spring.
Scribner told The Associated Press on Tues-day that Robert O’Neill’s “The Operator” will be published April 25. According to Scribner, O’Neill’s book will “vividly recount” a career that included some 400 missions, notably the May 2011 raid on bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. O’Neill also was on the missions that helped rescue Capt. Richard Phillips from Somali pirates and SEAL Marcus Luttrell from Afghanistan.
In a statement issued through Scribner, O’Neill said he wanted to show “the human side” of the battles fought for the country worldwide.
“They are extraordinary people, but they are also normal and I was proud to serve with them,” he said. “I also wanted to show that it is possible to do anything you want, no matter where you are from, as long as you work hard, avoid negativity and never quit.”
O’Neill first alleged that he had killed bin Laden in 2014, an announcement that the government has neither affirmed nor disputed. Around the same time, the head of Naval
Special Warfare Command issued a letter criti-cizing violations of the SEAL “ethos” against self-promotion.
“A critical tenant of our ethos is ‘I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions,’” wrote Rear Adm. Brian Losey. “Our ethos is a life-long commitment and obligation, both in and out of the service. Violators of our ethos are neither teammates in good standing, nor teammates who represent Naval Special Warfare.”
Another SEAL on the bin Laden mission, Matthew Bissonnette, wrote the best-selling “No Easy Day” in 2012. Completed under the pseudonym “Mark Owen,” the book of-fered a detailed accounting of the raid but did not identify by name the SEAL who killed bin Laden. Bissonnette was threatened with prison for not clearing his manuscript with the Pentagon and last year agreed to pay the gov-ernment millions of dollars for back earnings and legal fees. A Scribner spokesman said the Pentagon has cleared O’Neill’s book.
O’Neill is the recipient of numerous honors, including two Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars with Valor and a Joint Service Commenda-tion Medal with Valor. His book, Scribner announced, “will offer powerful stories about
— and new insights into — our war against terror, and will capture the fierce and unique brotherhood among SEALs — many of whom spend up to 300 days away from their families and rely on team members for their survival.”
❑ ❑ ❑
Irish writer Sebastian Barry on Tuesday became the first novelist to scoop the Costa Book of the Year award twice, with his por-trayal of an 1850s gay relationship between US soldiers.
“Days Without End” was the judges’ unani-mous choice for Barry’s “searing, magnificent and incredibly moving description of how the West was won”, said the award chair Kate Williams.
The novel follows the relationship of two young men fighting for the US army, as they journey from Wyoming to Tennessee.
Collecting his £30,000 ($38,000, 35,000 euros) prize at a ceremony in London, Barry said he was thrilled with the win.
“You have made me crazy happy from the top of my head to my toes in a way that is a little bit improper at 61,” said the author.
Barry previously won the Costa Book of the Year award in 2008 for his novel “The Secret
Scripture”.While he is the first novelist to take the prize
on two occasions, poets Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes have each won twice.
Williams praised the “beautiful characterisa-tions and brilliant writing” of this year’s win-ner, explaining Barry chose to write about the same-sex relationship between the two soldiers after the author’s son came out as gay.
The award is open to authors living in Brit-ain and Ireland and attracted 596 entries for the 2017 prize, five of which were shortlisted.
Last year the award was picked up by Frances Hardinge for “The Lie Tree”, a 19th-century detective novel.
Also:NEW YORK: A former special agent who once helped capture the Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo is working on a book.
HarperCollins told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the Drug Enforcement Adminis-tration official, writing under the pseudonym “Cole Merrell,” was collaborating with author Douglas Century on “Hunting El Chapo.” The book is scheduled to come out Oct 17. Century’s previous books include “Barney Ross” and “Street Kingdom.”
According to the publisher, “Hunting El Chapo” will offer a “cinematically” detailed take on the investigation and eventual capture of Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman-Loera in 2014. El Chapo escaped in 2015, was recap-tured last year and was extradited to the US earlier this month.
❑ ❑ ❑
NEW YORK: Ohio Gov John Kasich, a prominent Republican detractor of President Donald Trump, has a book deal.
Thomas Dunne Books says Tuesday that Kasich’s “Two Paths: America Divided or United” will be published April 25. The book will reflect on Kasich’s career, his run for the presidency and his views on a wide range of issues, from media coverage of politics to voting rights.
The 64-year-old Kasich was a leading com-petitor to Trump in the GOP primary race and declined to endorse Trump after he clinched the nomination. The two have continued to feud, with Kasich calling Trump’s recent im-migration executive order “ham-handed,” and Trump supporting a contender for state party chair in Ohio who defeated a Kasich backer for the job.
By Bader Abu Raghabah Al-OtaibiKuwaiti Freelance JournalistSpecial to the Arab Times
Ismael Fahad Ismael is a veteran Kuwaiti litterateur, novelist, short story writer,
playwright and literary critic. He is a writ-er of greater eminence in Arabic literature with an amazing prolificacy through his numerous outstanding novels, short sto-ries, plays as well as critical studies.
He was born in 1940 at the village of Al-Sebiliyat in Abu Al-Khasseeb town in Al-Basra province, south of Iraq to a Kuwaiti father and Iraqi mother. He hails from Zubairi family came from Najd in Saudi Arabia. He completed his schooling in Iraq and gained a bachelor’s degree in literature and criticism in 1979 from the Higher Institute for Theatre Arts in Ku-wait where he worked in teaching at one of its government schools.
In his more than half-century creative literary journey, Ismael has thirty seven publications (37) to his credit which in-clude twenty six novels (26), one novella (1), two collections of short stories (2), three plays (3) and five studies (5).
Ismael was interested in writing fiction at an early age, and his debut short story collection entitled Al-Bughaah Al-Da-kinah (The dark spot) was published in 1965. Though he was released his second collection of short stories titled Al-Agh-fass Wal Lughah Al-Mushtarakah (The cages and the common language) in 1974, his attention was already shifted to novels.
His first novel titled Kanat Al-Samaa Zarghaa (The sky was blue) has been published in 1970, and its introduction was written by Salah Abdul Saboor, the late famous Egyptian poet and here is an excerpt from it:
“It was a surprise for me, and this is the novel of twentieth century which came from the far east of Arabia.”
That novel was banned in Iraq and Syria due to its storyline which had been based on a military coup incident in Iraq and the running away of soldiers. The compilation was the first volume of this fourfold book and the other three subsequent published novels are: Al-Mustanghaat Al-Dhawei-yah (The photic swamps) (1971), Al-Habl (The rope) (1972) and Al-Dhifaf Al-Okhra (The other shores) (1973).
PublishedIn 1975, he released his novel Malaf Al-
Hadithah 67 (The file of case 67) which explores the troubled psyche of an inno-cent expatriate Palestinian who has been investigated for nothing in Kuwait. And in that year, Ismael has also published his novel Al-Shaiyah, where its title named after a small Lebanese town which was witnessed to a genocide and mass atroci-ties during the ongoing civil war there.
The alienation and falsity of relation-ships among the friends were the central themes of his novel Al-toiyoor Wal As-dighaa (The birds and the friends) which was published in 1979.
He dealt successfully with various complex aspects of human life to reflect the reality of Kuwaiti society at that time in his novel Khutwah Fee Al-Hulom (A move in the dream) which was released in 1980.
His trilogy which its title derived from the name of Nile river in Arabic language, was a breath of fresh air in Arabic fiction due to its authentic subjects such as his-tory, heritage, traditions, politics as well as love story of course, and its events pres-ent the bewildering variety of sight and sounds of the old city of Cairo, the capital of Egypt and starting from 17th century South till the end 1980s. The three parts of published collection are namely: Al-Neel Yajri Shamalan: Al-Bidaiyat (The Nile flows north: The beginnings) (1983), Al-Neel Yajri Shamalan: Al-Nawatteer (The Nile flows north: The gatekeepers) (1984) and Al-Neel Al-Ttam Al-Raehah (The Nile, the taste, the smell) (1989).
After the liberation of Kuwait in Febru-ary 1991, Ismael left his own country to the Philippines, his self-imposed exile where he spent five of his years there. Then, he started writing his novel entitled Ihdathiyaat Zaman Al-Ozlah (coordi-
(1937-1987), the late famous Palestinian cartoonist who was lived in Kuwait at the previous time period, as well as it deals with Al-Badoon’s issue those who have no rights because they are non-Kuwaiti citi-zens and who live in Kuwait without any nationality. This novel has been titled Fee Hadhrat Al-Anghaa Wal Khil Al-Wafi (In the presence of the phoenix and the loyal friend) (2014), and has been nominated on the long list for the 2015 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (Arabic Booker Prize).
His last novel seems to be a wonderful blend between poetry and fictional biogra-phy on the life story of the late legendary Nabati poet Ibn Laboon (1791-1831) who was born in Saudi Arabia (Najd), lived in Iraq (Al-Basra) and died in Kuwait. The novel was published in 2015 under the title Al-Dhuhoor Al-Thani Le Ibn Laaboon (The second appearance of Ibn Laaboon).
Finally in terms of novelistic career, Ismael latest novel’s Al-Sebiliyat was published in 2015 and its title has been derived from his birthplace, the village of Al-Sebiliyat in Iraq as a part of his biog-raphy through the story of an old woman called Om Ghassem, the main character and her relationship with a donkey which reflect the value of home at the end.
PassionAs long as, Ismael has wanted to be a
film maker since his childhood but his financial circumstances always prevented him to fulfill that eternal dream. May be this passion turned him later to the theatre and led him to became a talented play-wright.
His debut play Al-Nass (The text) was published in 1982 and staged in Bahrain where his second play entitled Al-Aardh Lam Yabda (The show did not start) (2003) was staged there too, and his last play is Lel Hadath Baghiyah Ibn Zaiydoon (The event has a sequel, Ibn Zaiydoon) which was published in 2008.
As a literary critic, he has published five studies on different themes such as the Kuwaiti short story, the late Kuwaiti poet Ali Al-Sabti, the Kuwaiti litterateur and novelist Laila Al-Othman and other experiences for some Arab writers. And these books were released under the fol-lowing titles: Al-ghissah Al-Arabiyah Fee Al-Kuwait (The Arabic story in Kuwait) (1977), Al-Fiel Al-Dirami Wa Nagheedhuhu (The dramatic action and its antithesis) (1978), Ali Al-Sabti: Shaaeron Fee Al-Hawaa Al-Talgh (Ali Al-Sabti: A poet in open air) (2002), Ma Taalamatuhu Al-Shajarah Laila Al-Othman (What the tree, Laila Al-Othman has learned) (2005) and Mubdeoon Mughaiyeroon: Kalimaat Mughaamerah (Contrasting creatives: Ad-venturous writings) (2006), respectively.
In addition to his many contributions to Arabic literature and commonly known by his honorific titles such as the roving am-bassador of Arabic culture or the sheikh of Gulf novelists. Ismael has also earned the respect of the entire Kuwaiti modern literary sphere for playing a very crucial torch-bearer’s role in discovering, nurtur-ing and promoting young literary talents in his own country from the middle of 1960s.
Ismael Fahad Ismael considers himself an experimental writer, and he has been outspoken about his early life in Iraq, his works and influences on his works which some of them have been translated into several foreign languages such as English, French, German, Russian, Spanish and Italian.
He has been conferred with many awards include the incentivizing state award in 1989 for his novel Al-Neel Al-Ttam Al-Raehah (The Nile, the taste, the smell), and he also was awarded the incentivizing state award in 2002 for his contribution to Kuwaiti literature and Ara-bic criticism, for his critical book entitled Ali Al-Sabti: Shaaeron Fee Al-Hawaa Al-Talgh (Ali Al-Sabti: A poet in open air), as well as he is the recipient of the Sultan Bin Ali Al-Oais Cultural Founda-tion Award in 2014.
Unfortunately, Ismael Fahad Ismael once said that he failed to write his auto-biography.
nates of the time of isolation) which was published in 1995. This work derived from the writer’s experience as a resistant citizen during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (Iraq-Kuwait war) in August 1990 until the liberation of Kuwait in February 1991, and is considered the longest novel ever written in Arabic. It has been serialized in seven parts (sevenfold book) which were published under the following titles: Al-Shams Fee Burj Al-Hoot (The Sun in the Pisces) (1996), Al-Haiyatu Wajhun Akhr (The life is another face) (1996), Ghaidu Al-Ashiyaa (The bond of things) (1996), Dawaer Al-Istihaalaat (The circles of impossibility) (1996),Thakirat Al-Hud-hoor (The memory of presence) (1996), Al-Ababiliyoon (1996) and Al-Assf (The blast) (1996).
Ismael has published his novel titled Baaedan Ela Huna (Far away..to here) in 1997, which revolves around the alien-ation of Srilankan housemaid named Kumari and her Kuwaiti sponsor (Kafeel) who called Saud.
StyleHis political novel entitled Yahdithu
Amss (It happens yesterday) was also published in 1997 by which he has intro-duced the old relations between Basra (in
Iraq) and Kuwait through a unique style to add a new dimension to the Arabic novel, breaking new ground in the literary vista.
Ismael’s historical novel named Al-Kaaenu Al-Dhil (The shadow organism)
was released in 1999, and revolves around the thievish journey of Hamdoon Ibn Hamdi, one of the most famous Arabian bandits in the old city of Baghdad.
In 2000, The dramatic novel of Ismael Fahad Ismal, Samaa Naaeiyah (A remote sky) has been published as a cumulative social aggregations on Kuwaiti people due to the effects of war (Iraq-Kuwait) and liberation of Kuwait in February 1991.
His only novella in terms of its literary genre, has been published in 2010 under the title Mesk (Musk), and through it, the writer deals with social issue based on the story of separation between a Kuwaiti married couple who were divorced laterly and their alienation at many terminals like Athens in Greece and Berlin in Germany after September 11 attacks.
Toiyoor Al-Taaji (Al-Taji’s birds), one of his creative novelistic works which was published in 2014, and he narrated the bitter agonies of three Kuwaiti captives who were jailed in Al-Taaji, the notorious Iraqi camp during the Invasion of Kuwait period.
In the same year, Ismael has also published a part of his autobiographical novel about his close friend Naji Al-Ali
Kuwaiti litterateur Ismael Fahad Ismael and some of the book covers of his works.
Bader Al-Otaibi
