2009 Blue Metropolis Al Majidi Ibn Dhaher Arab Literary Prize: Zakaria Tamer
The 2009 Blue Metropolis Al Majidi Ibn Dhaher Arab Literary Prize was given to Syrian-born Zakaria Tamer in recognition of his extraordinary career as a writer.
Born in Damascus in 1931, Zakaria Tamer is one of the most widely-read short story writers, as well as a pre-eminent author of children's stories in Arabic. His short stories are often reminiscent of folktales, renowned for their relative simplicity on the one hand and the complexity of their many potential references on the other. Most of his stories deal with man's inhumanity to man, likewise to woman, the oppression of the poor by the rich and of the weak by the strong. Tamer has also published children's books and collections of his satirical newspaper columns. Breaking Knees, an English translation of one of his collections, was published in 2008. Zakaria Tamer currently lives in London.
Chaired by Blue Metropolis Founder and Artistic Director Linda Leith, the 2009 jury includes scholar and translator Dr. Issa J. Boullata; translator and owner of the Middle East Bookstore Hassan Isidean; head of the cultural section of Al Ahram Magda El Guindi; and Dr. Abdul Nabi Isstaif, professor of comparative literature and criticism at Damascus University.
Zakaria Tamer received the Blue Metropolis Al Majidi Ibn Dhaher Arab Literary Prize on April 23, 2009 during the 11th Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival. The award ceremony was followed by an on-stage interview with Zakaria Tamer hosted by Issa Boullata.
