Youssef Idris (1927-1991), who belongs to the same generation of pioneering Egyptian writers such as Naguib Mahfouz and Tawfiq al-Hakim, is considered the father of the Arabic short story.
He studied and practiced medicine, but his interests were in politics, supporting the nationalist struggle, and in writing – and his writings, both in his regular newspaper articles and in his works of fiction, often reflected his political convictions.Youssef Idris was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature more than once, and when the prize was awarded to Naguib Mahfouz in 1988, Idris felt ignored because of his outspoken views on Israel. Youssef Idris wrote about a dozen wonderful collections of short stories, most of which deal with the lives of the poor and the simple. Many of them have been translated into English and are included, along with an excerpt from one of his novels, in this collection that includes his best works.
