Shawky Abdel Hakim

The popular novelist, Shawqi, was born in 1934 in a village in Fayoum Governorate (90 km south of Cairo). He graduated from the Faculty of Arts, Department of Philosophy, in 1958. This rural upbringing had a great influence on his direction towards this type of literature. He did not choose popular literature to study, but rather it was a hobby that haunted him since his childhood. His interest in it began when he listened to praises, songs, and “songs.” Shawqi Abdel Hakim’s works varied between articles, studies, plays, and novels, and most of these works were inspired by popular heritage. His first work was the book “Peasant Literature.” Some of the late’s works were transformed into television dramas and cinematic films. In 1978, Ali Badrakhan directed the movie “Shafiqa and Metwally” for cinema, and the script and dialogue were written by the late poet Salah Jaheen, starring Souad Hosni and Ahmed Zaki. Shawqi Abdel Hakim presented a number of texts in improvised theater, which numbered 16 texts. Among Shawqi Abdel Hakim’s most prominent works is “The Encyclopedia of Arab Folklore and Mythology.” This encyclopedia constitutes a journey through Arab folklore and mythology to learn about the childhood, development and transformations of the human imagination with the aim of reshaping the new Arab human being, starting with his ethics and behavior and ending with political practice along the Arab entities. Also, “Biographies of the Tibetan Kings,” which is an interpretation of a group of biographies of the surprising kings of the ancient Arabs of Yemen, their history and their impact in spreading civilization and Arabism in the Far East, Egypt, and the Horn of Africa. It was based on a collection of documents and manuscripts in the library of the British Museum in London. Then “The Princess with the Determination.” Shawqi Abdel Hakim also presented many research papers, such as Arab biographies and epics - the biography of Bani Hilal - and Arab poetry - the secularization of countries and the problem of heritage. The Experimental Theater Festival honored him in its fifth session.