Elias Khoury (born in Beirut in 1948) is a Lebanese writer and critic. Beirut (Arabic: , transliterated Bayrūt - the French name, Beyrouth, was also commonly used in English in the past) is the capital, largest city and chief seaport of Lebanon. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Career as academic, critic and editor

Elias Khoury studied history and sociology in Beirut and Paris, writing a dissertation on the 1860 civil war in Lebanon, before becoming a researcher with the Palestine Liberation Organisation's research centre in Beirut. Wikimedia Commons has media related to: History History studies the past in human terms. ... Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... A civil war is a war in which the competing parties within the same country or empire struggle for national control of state power. ... The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (Arabic Munazzamat al-Tahrir Filastiniyyah منظمة تحرير فلسطينية ) is a political and paramilitary organization of Palestinian Arabs dedicated to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state to consist of the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, with an intent to destroy Israel. ...

From 1975 to 1979 he was editor of Shu'un Filastin (Palestinian affairs), collaborating with Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish, and from 1981 to 1982 editorial director of Al-Karmel. From 1983 to 1990 he was editorial director of the cultural section of Al-Safir. He is currently editor of the cultural supplement of Al-Nahar. 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... Mahmoud Darwish is a contemporary Palestinian poet, internationally recognized for his poetry, focused on the strong affection for a lost homeland. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... An-Nahar (Arabic: النهار) The Day, is a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper in Lebanon. ...

He has taught in Columbia University, New York, in the American University of Beirut, the Lebanese University, the Lebanese American University and New York University. Columbia University is a private university in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. ... Official language(s) English Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ... The American University of Beirut (AUB) is a private, independent, non-sectarian university founded in 1866 in Beirut, Lebanon. ... The Lebanese University is the only public university in Lebanon. ... The Lebanese American University is an American institution chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York and operating in Lebanon. ... New York University (NYU) is a major research university in New York City. ...

Literary works

Elias Khoury's first novel was An 'ilaqat al-da'ira, 1975. It was followed in 1977 by the highly successful The Little Mountain, set during the Lebanese civil war, which Khoury initially saw as a catalyst for progressive change. Other well-known works include The Journey of Little Gandhi, about a rural immigrant to Beirut who lives through the events of the civil war, and Bab al-Shams, 2000. An epic re-telling of the life of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon since the Nakba of 1948, the novel also subtly addresses the ideas of memory, truth and story-telling. It has been made into a film by Egyptian director Yousry Nasrallah. His most recent novel, Yalo, was controversial as it depicted a former militiaman accused of crimes during the civil war and portrayed the use of torture in the Lebanese judicial system. 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... For the civil conflict of 1958, see Lebanon crisis of 1958. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Categories: Stub | 1948 Arab-Israeli War | Israeli-Palestinian conflict ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg is an infamous and rarely used torture device. ...

Khoury's novels are notable for their complex approach to both political themes and more fundamental questions of human behaviour. His narrative technique often involves an interior monologue, at times approaching a stream of consciousness. In recent works he has tended to use a considerable element of colloquial Arabic, although the language of his novels remains primarily classical Arabic. This use of dialect forms adds to the credibility and immediacy of the narratorial voice. While use of dialect in dialogue is relatively common in modern Arabic literature (for example, in the work of Yusuf Idris), Khoury introduces it into the main narrative, an unusual step although one clearly associated with the narrative technique of his works. The term Fusha may refer to: Fusha (language), a collective term referring to a kind of variety in the Arabic language, or Fusha Town(阜沙鎮), a town in the city of Zhongshan, Guangdong Province of China. ... Yusuf Idris (Arabic: يوسف ادريس Transliteration: Yūsuf Idrīs ) (1927 - 1991) was an Egyptian writer of plays, short stories, and novels. ...

Elias Khoury's works have been translated into English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, and Swedish. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than 7 million people, mainly in Israel, the West Bank, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ...

Political engagement

In March 2001 Khoury signed a statement along with 13 other Arab intellectuals (including Mahmoud Darwish, Samir Kassir and Adonis), opposing the holding of a Holocaust denial conference in Beirut, a statement which was praised in Le Monde by the Israeli ambassador to France. Khoury responded angrily to the ambassador's remarks, pointing to the Israeli repression of the Palestinian intifada. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Samir Kassir Samir Kassir (سمير قصير in Arabic) (May 5, 1960 – June 2, 2005), was a university professor, journalist and historian of Palestinian origin who held Lebanese and French nationality. ... Ali Ahmad Said (born 1930), also known by the pseudonym Adonis, is a Syrian-born poet and literary critic who has made his career largely in Lebanon and France. ... Richard Harwoods Did Six Million Really Die? Holocaust denial is the claim that the mainstream historical version of the Holocaust is either highly exaggerated or completely falsified. ... Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper with a circulation in 2002 of 389,200. ... An ambassador, rarely embassador, is a diplomatic official accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of his or her own country. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ...

Khoury, along with Samir Kassir and other intellectuals and political activists, was involved in the establishment of the Democratic Left Movement. Samir Kassir Samir Kassir (سمير قصير in Arabic) (May 5, 1960 – June 2, 2005), was a university professor, journalist and historian of Palestinian origin who held Lebanese and French nationality. ... The Democratic Left Movement (arabic: harakat al-yasar al-democrati), also known for its arabic acronym HYD, is a political party in Lebanon founded in September 2004. ...

List of works

Titles are given in English where a translation has been published, and otherwise in Arabic. Dates are of the appearance of the original Arabic work.

• 'an 'ilaqat al-da'irah, 1975 (novel)
• The Little Mountain, 1977 (novel)
• Dirasat fi naqd al-shi'r, 1979 (criticism)
• The Gates of the City, 1981 (novel)
• Al-wujuh al-baida' , 1981 (novel)
• Al-dhakira al-mafquda, 1982 (criticism)
• Al-mubtada' wa'l-khabar, 1984 (short stories)
• Tajribat al-ba'th 'an ufq, 1984 (criticism
• Zaman al-ihtilal, 1985 (criticism)
• The Journey of Little Gandhi, 1989 (novel)
• The Kingdom of Strangers, 1993 (novel)
• Majma' al-Asrar, 1994 (novel)
• Bab al-Shams 1998 (novel)
• Ra'ihat al-Sabun, 2000 (novel)
• Yalo, 2002 (novel)

External links

• Interview with Elias Khoury, from Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies website