Ali Douagi

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Ali Douagi
علي الدوعاجي
Born(1909-01-04)January 4, 1909
Tunis, Tunisia
DiedMay 27, 1949(1949-05-27) (aged 40)
Tunis, Tunisia
Occupations
  • sketch artist
  • songwriter
  • playwright
  • journalist

Ali Douagi or Ali ed-Du'aji (

Tunisian Arabic: علي الدوعاجي; January 4, 1909 – May 27, 1949) was a Tunisian literary and cultural icon who is considered to be one of the pioneers of modern Tunisian literature. He is best remembered as "the father of the modern Tunisian short story".[1][2] Douagi was also known for his versatility as a sketch artist, songwriter, playwright, and journalist.[3]

Biography

Douagi was born to a wealthy family of

Quran school (kuttab) but soon discovered that this did not fulfill his interests.[1] His mother encouraged him to pursue a career in business, and for a brief period he worked as an apprentice for a local successful merchant.[3] However, Douagi decided to embark upon a project to educate himself by reading French literature and culture. When he made the acquaintance of Ali el-Jandubi, a prominent literary scholar, he discovered the medieval and modern Arabic history, literature and cultural studies.[3]

When the colonial governments eased upon

European colonialism and the cause of social justice and economic and social equality.[3] Douagi was also experimental and especially known for his versatility as a sketch artist, songwriter, playwright, and short story writer.[3]

His Turkish roots and his mastery of the French language, as well as his

bourgeois background and financial security, all played a part in crafting a vision of himself and his work.[4] Douagi often depicted and fantasised romanticised strokes of eastern-western encounters. Hence, his stories depicted a peaceful coexistence in which differing cultures and religions coexist; this philosophical stance regarding east–west encounters dominated from his earliest writings.[4] A prominent figure that strongly influenced Douagi was Mahmud el-Bayram et-Tunsi (1893–1961);.[5] the personal and professional relationship between them was one that embraced a vast spectrum of contemporary politics, arts, and ideological currents that electrified the cultural scene in Tunisia during the 1930s. They shared a passion for journalism, for the freedom of the press to lash out at social injustices, religious hypocrisy, and economic inequalities.[5]

Douagi's most lasting contribution to Tunisian literature, as well as pan-Arabic literature, are his short stories that were collated and published in 1969, twenty years after his death, into a single anthology entitled "Shirtu minhu el-lyeli" ("Sleepless Nights, 2000").[6] On May 27, 1949, Douagi died of tuberculosis.[7] According to many accounts, he was abandoned by many of his friends and harboured bitter disappointment for not being recognised for his work.[7] However, on the tenth anniversary of his death, Zin el-Abidin es-Sanusi published an article entitle "Ed-Du’aji’s Legacy" which resurrected critical inquiry and public interest in his work. Al-Sanusi reported that Douagi had written in his 163 radio sketches, and that his heirs discovered 60 more among his affects. He also wrote 15 plays and composed nearly 500 songs and poems.[8]

The Ali Douagi Prize (Prix Ali Douagi) for a novel is awarded at the Tunis International Book Festival (Foire internationale du Livre de Tunis).[9][10] The Derja Association also awards an Ali Douagi Prize for the best work written in Tunisian Arabic ("derja"), in reference to Ali Douagi's use of vernacular in his plays and the dialogues of his short stories.[11] This has caused confusion and some have criticized the Derja Association for choosing the same name as the more prominent prize.[12]

Selected works

  • Shirtu minhu el-lyeli (Sleepless Nights)
  • Jeri (My neighbour)
  • Maotou El Am Békhir (The death of the Uncle Bekhir)
  • Nozha Raïka (Luxurious walk)
  • Omm Hawwa (Eve's Mother)

References

  1. ^ a b c d Granara 2010, 79.
  2. ^ a b Toute la Tunisie. "Ali Douagi". Archived from the original on 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Granara 2010, 80.
  4. ^ a b Granara 2010, 81.
  5. ^ a b Granara 2010, 83.
  6. ^ Granara 2010, 84.
  7. ^ a b Granara 2010, 85.
  8. ^ Granara 2010, 86.
  9. ^ "Conférence de presse de la 35e édition de la Foire internationale du Livre de Tunis". Misk. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Foire Internationale du Livre de Tunis". Cité de la culture. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  11. ^ "الكولوك" [Annual Colloquium]. Derja Association. Archived from the original on 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  12. ^ خلف الله, نجم الدين (2021-03-11). "في الاستيلاء على الدوعاجي.. تنويع تونسيّ على سجال الفصحى والعامّية" [Co-opting Ali Douagi: Tunisia rehashes the Standard–Vernacular debate]. Al-Arabi Al-Jadid العربي الجديد.

Bibliography

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