The Role of Yahya Haqqi in Egyptian Literature of the 20>sup>th</sup> Century

Abstract

Yahya Haqqi is one of the most popular novelists in Egypt in the mid–twentieth century. He is known not only as an author of works of art. His books on the history of Egyptian literature, critical works, books of commemorations provide invaluable material about the life and activities of the literary circles of Egypt in the last century. He is the founder of the genre of “lauhat” (literary sketches) in Egyptian literature. The writer's artistic creativity reflects the development of Arabic short stories for more than forty years. His most famous works are “The Lamp of Umm Hashim”, “Awakening”, “The Postman”, “God bless you”. He is considered, first of all, the master of the novella, at the origins of which he stood in Egyptian literature. Yahya Haqqi plays a huge role in the creation of modern literary Arabic. He consciously set himself this task, scrupulously working on each phrase. He is the author of one of the most significant works of Arabic literature of the last century, his “Lamp of Umm Hashim” has become the most popular not only in Egypt, but throughout the Arab world.