Egyptian poet Farouq Shousha passed away on Friday morning at the age of 80, and his burial ceremony is to take place this afternoon in the city of Damietta.
As one of the renowned poets and intellectuals in modern Egyptian history, Shousha, dubbed as the ‘knight of Arabic language’, worked on bridging the gap between theoretical frameworks of literature and poetry and every day life.
Born in 1936 and raised in Damietta, the late poet studied in the Faculty of Arts in Ain Shams University, where he started a career in teaching, educating, and writing poetry.
Shousha taught Arabic literature at the American University in Cairo and worked also at the Egyptian state owned radio and TV, where he presented two daily and weekly shows.
His most famous radio show was a daily 10-minute informative programme about Arabic language and poetry called “Our Beautiful Language”.
The poet who ended his legacy with only 20 works, and with numerous participations in festivals and committees, spearheaded several initiatives to counter the marginalistion of culture coming from distinct villages and cities in Egypt.
