Professor Abd Alqadir Al-Qit

Abd Al-Gadir Al-Qit was an erudite Arab intellectual and literary critic, who had enriched the Arabic library with numerous scholarly books and articles covering a wide range of Arabic literature, classic and contemporary Arabic prose, poetry and translations. Professor Al-Qit obtained a BA in Arabic Language (with Distinction) from the College of Arts at Fuad Al-Awal University in Cairo in 1938, and a Ph.D. from London University in 1950. Following graduation, he was appointed as a Chief Librarian of King Fuad University, then joined the faculty of Ain Shams University, where he became a Professor of Arabic Language for several decades. During his tenure at Ain Shams, he served as the Chair of the Department of Arabic Language and the Dean of the College of Arts. He was a board member of the Egyptian Writers’ Union, the Egyptian Literary Society, and the Egyptian Supreme Council for Arts and Literature. He was also a chief editor of several widely circulated Arabic literary magazines.

Professor Al-Qit’s contributions included books dealing with reform trends in poetry during the Abbasid era, spiritual aspects of contemporary Arabic poetry, modern Egyptian literature and modern Arabic literature. His translations included several world classics by Shakespeare, Wilder, Richardson and others.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.