The first Arabic Short Story International Forum, held from 1-4 November of this year, chose late author Yehia el-Taher Abdallah’s name as the title for its first session.
The forum also decided to publish a new edition of the complete works of Yehia el-Taher (1938-1981).
Yehia el-Taher was tragically killed in a car accident while on his way from Cairo to the oases. El-Taher was traveling with his daughter and a number of his friends, but was the only person to die in the accident, even before he could be transferred to hospital.
The complete works of Yehia el-Taher include story collections: Thalaath Shagarat Kabeera Tuthmer Bortoqalan (Three Large Orange Trees) 1970, El-Raff wal Soundouq (The shelf and the Box) 1974, and Ana wa Heya wa Zouhour el-Alam (She, myself, and the pain) 1977, three novels Hekayat lil Amir hatta Yanam (Stories for the Prince to Sleep) 1978, El-Touk wel Eswera (The Collar and the Bracelet) 1975, and Tasaweer min el-Tourab wal Maa wal Shams (Photos of Dust, Water, and Sun) 1981, his collection El-Raqsa el-Mobaha, (The Accepted Dance) and a short novel Hekaya ala Lesan Kalb (A story told by a dog) which was only published after his death.
This is the third edition of his complete works, introduced by his daughter Asmaa, who was barely three years old when her father’s life was snatched from him. In the foreword, Asmaa says: "My father, Yehia el-Taher, under whose wing I only rested for a short while, is always before my eyes. I tried to gather his personal characteristics from the accounts of his friends. He was determined, oversensitive, proud, dignified, and brave, I am told. He was also a ravenous reader who read every book upon which his eyes fell. My father, they said, was an extremist when it came to ideas he believed in."
Book: The Complete Works of Yehia el-Taher Abdalla
Author: Yehia el-Taher Abdalla
Publisher: el-Ain, Egypt
431 large-size pages
