Egypt Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Literature === {{Main|Egyptian literature}} [[File:Necip Mahfuz.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Naguib Mahfouz]], the first Arabic-language writer to win the [[Nobel Prize]] in Literature]] Egyptian literature traces its beginnings to [[ancient Egypt]] and is some of the earliest known literature. Indeed, the Egyptians were the first culture to develop literature as we know it today, that is, the [[book]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Edwards |first=Amelia |title=The Literature and Religion of Ancient Egypt |url=http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/edwards/pharaohs/pharaohs-6.html |access-date=30 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020082547/http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/edwards/pharaohs/pharaohs-6.html |archive-date=20 October 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of [[Arabic literature]], and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Arab world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/EgyptOnline/Culture/000001/0203000000000000000567.htm |title=Global influence of Egyptian culture |date=4 February 2006 |publisher=Egypt State Information Service |access-date=21 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124223643/http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/EgyptOnline/Culture/000001/0203000000000000000567.htm |archive-date=24 November 2007}}</ref> The first modern Egyptian novel ''[[Zaynab (novel)|Zaynab]]'' by [[Muhammad Husayn Haykal]] was published in 1913 in the [[Egyptian Arabic|Egyptian vernacular]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Vatikiotis|first=P.J.|title=The history of modern Egypt: from Muhammad Ali to Mubarak|year=1991|publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson|location=London|isbn=978-0-297-82034-5|page=486|edition=4}}</ref> Egyptian novelist [[Naguib Mahfouz]] was the first Arabic-language writer to win the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]]. Egyptian women writers include [[Nawal El Saadawi]], well known for her [[feminism|feminist]] activism, and [[Alifa Rifaat]] who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular [[literary genre]] among Egyptians, represented by the works of [[Ahmed Fouad Negm]] (Fagumi), [[Salah Jaheen]] and [[Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Culture of Egypt |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hellochina/egyptambassador09/2009-08/24/content_8607968.htm |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=www.chinadaily.com.cn}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page