Ahmed Shawqi
Ahmed Shawqi (1868–1932) (Arabic: أحمد شوقي, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [ˈʔæħmæd ˈʃæwʔi]), also written as Ahmed Chawki, nicknamed Amīr al-Shu‘arā’ (The Prince of Poets, Arabic: أمير الشعراء), was one of the greatest Arabic poets laureate, an Egyptian poet and dramatist who pioneered the modern Egyptian literary movement, most notably introducing the genre of poetic epics to the Arabic literary tradition. On the paternal side he was of Circassian, Greek and Kurdish descent, and on the maternal side of Turkish and Greek descent.
Life
Raised in a privileged setting with Turkish, Kurdish, Circassian, Greek, and Arab roots, his family was prominent and well-connected with the court of the Khedive of Egypt. Upon graduating from high school, he attended law school, obtaining a degree in translation. Shawqi was then offered a job in the court of the Khedive Abbas II,who was the khedive of Egypt, which he immediately accepted.
After a year working in the court of the Khedive, Shawqi was sent to continue his studies in Law at the Universities of Montpellier and Paris for three years. While in France, he was heavily influenced by the works of French playwrights, most notably Molière and Racine. He returned to Egypt in 1894, and remained a prominent member of Arab literary culture until the British forced him into exile in southern Spain, Andalusia, in 1914.
Shawqi remained there until 1920, when he returned to Egypt. In 1927 he was crowned by his peers Amir al-Sho’araa’ (literally, "the Prince of Poets") in recognition of his considerable contributions to the literary field.
