Georges Henein

Abstract

Georges Henein was an important pioneer of modernism in Egypt, who played a critical role in the cultural and artistic movement of the country, despite critics who tried to distance him from contemporary Egyptian thought under the guise that he was a Francophone writer. This research presents Henein’s contribution to the historical, cultural, and national Egyptian trajectory, using some translated excerpts from his writings. The surrealist adventure Henein launched in Egypt was an important modernizing event in contemporary Egyptian culture. Although the influence of surrealist visions on Arabic literature was limited, the impact of these visions on the Francophone literature in Egypt was significant and evident in the work of poets such as Munīr Hāfez, Walid Munir, Horus Shenouda, Edmond Jabès, Mary Kavadia, and Joyce Mansour. In the field of fine arts, the impact of surrealism produced clear and essential modernist trends that have become characteristic of these arts.