MAYZIADEH
SUHEIL B. BUSHRUI Associate Professor and Chairman, Department of English
MA
Y ZIADEH, the [mcmost woman weiter of the first two decades of this century in Arabic literature, was the only child of a Lebanese father, Elias Zakhur Ziadeh, and a Palestinian mother, l\" uzha Khalil 1'1 u 'mar. Born on February 11, 1886 in 1\ azardh, Palestine, she \vas educated first at her birthplace and then for five years at the 'Aintourah Institute for Girls in Lebanon. In 190B her father, a teacher by profession, seeking bettcr prospccts in Egypt transferrcd his homc and family to Cairo, where he eventually became the managing Director of the dailv, al-M ahrousah. For l'fav, Ziadch, then in her ('ad v. twenties , life in Cairo, the centre of great literary activity at the time, stimulated her interest and encouraged her to publish in 1911 her first major literary work, Fleurs de reve. Written in French and under the pseudonym of Isis (;opia, this early work demonstrated the influence not only of her French education but particularly that of Lamartine and pointed to the peculiar, exploratory, creative mind she possessed. She was a regular contributor to al-M ahrousah and to the leading newspapers and periodicals of her age: al-/thram, al-Hilal, al-Muqattam, al-Muqlatta!. the French Progres Eff,yjJticn, and the English E/!.),/Ilial/ Alail (for which shc used yet another ps('udcH1ym - Ra'fat Khalid). Her work as a revinvcr of ncw literary works .introduced her to Khalil Gibran, whose influence on her thought and style can be seen everywhere in her works. Although the two had only known each other through correspondence, a fascinating literary and love relationship came t() exist between them: they seemed to have achieved a harmony and understanding rare cven among pcople who are n10rc intimately connected. Her homc in Cairo becamc thc literary "salon" of the Egyptian Capital, a meeting place for all those without whom therc would havc been no modern Arabic literature. Her intelligent and lively mind matched by beauty and great charm attracted
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the attention of such leading figurcs of her timc as Lutfi-al-Sayyid, Yaqoub Sarrouf, Taha Hussein, Jurji Zaidan and Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad. She became to many a muse and an inspirer, the if\fluence of her personality and eloquence superseding the influence of anything she has written. May Ziadeh's interest in creative writing was only equaled by her interest in the movement, then at its height in Egypt, led by the Egyptian suffragette Huda Sha'rawi. The three years (1915-1918) she spcnt as a student at the Egyptian National U niversity (Cairo) brought her into closer contact with Huda Sha'rawi and confirmed her in the stand she took in support of the Woman Emancipation 1'lovement, \vhich became her most consuming passion to the end of her life and to which the major portion of her work was dedicated. Between 1927 and 1931 May Ziadeh suffered the loss of four of the people nearest to her: hcr parcnts; Ya'coub Sarrouf, her staunch friend and ally; and Khalil Gibran, the man shc really loved. This series of bereavements affected her deeply as her