May Ziade
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May Ziade (1886 - 1941) (Arabic: مي زيادة) was born in Palestine (in the Ottoman Empire) to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother in 1886.[1] She was a prolific writer for newspapers and periodicals, authoring a number of poems and books as well. She was a key figure in the renaissance period of the early 20th century Arabic literary scene.
Ziade's father was a teacher from the Kesrouan region of Lebanon. At 14 years of age, he sent his daughter to Aintoura in Lebanon to pursue her studies at a French convent school for girls. She is reported to have published her first articles at 16. In 1904, she returned to Nazareth to be with her parents.
Her studies in Aintoura had exposed her to French literature, and Romantic literature, to which she took a particular liking.
In 1908, she and her family emigrated to Egypt. There, her father founded "Al Mahroussah" newspaper to which Ziade contributed a number of articles.
Ziade was particularly interested in learning languages, studying for a Modern Languages degree while in Egypt. As a result of this, she had practical knowledge of Arabic, French, English, Italian, German, Spanish, and Modern Greek.
Ziade was well known in Arabic literary circles, receiving many male and female writers and intellectuals at her salon.
From 1911 onward, she maintained an extensive written correspondence with Khalil Gibran, author of the The Prophet, although they never met in person.
Her own works were written and published largely in Arabic, apart from a poem composed under the pen name Isis Copia in 1912, entitled, "Fleurs de Reve."
The titles of her works in Arabic (with English translation in brackets) include:
- "Al Bâhithat el-Bâdiyat" (Beginning Female Researchers) - "Sawâneh fatât" (Platters of Crumbs) - "Zulumât wa Achi'ât" (Humiliation and ?) - "Kalimât wa Ichârât" (Words and Signs) - "Al Saha'ef" {The Newspapers) - "Ghayat Al-Hayât" (The Meaning of Life) - "Al-Mûsawât" (Equality) - "Bayna l-Jazri wa l-Madd" (Between the Ebb and Flow)
May Ziade died in 1941.
[edit] References
- [1] BIBLIB.com. May Ziade.
- [2] BIBLIB.com. May Ziade(2).
