Gely Abdel Rahman facts for kids

Gely Abdel Rahman (1931 – 24 August 1990) Arabic: جيلي عبد الرحمن was one of the most important Sudanese poets of his time. He was known for his strong poems and his work as a professor.

Growing Up in Sudan and Egypt

Gely Abdel Rahman was born in 1931 on Saï (island). This is a small island in the Nile river in northern Sudan. When he was two years old, Gely moved to Egypt with his mother. His father had moved there earlier for work.

Gely started writing poems when he was only seven years old. By the age of nine, he had memorized the entire Qur'an. This was a big achievement, and he even received a special award for it.

School Days in Cairo

Gely went to Al-Azhar school in Cairo for his primary and secondary education. During his time there, he saw many students from different African countries. They often lived in difficult conditions. This experience helped Gely understand ideas about fairness and unfairness in society. He even took part in a student protest while he was at Al-Azhar.

A Career in Writing and Teaching

After finishing school, Gely began working as an editor for an Egyptian newspaper. This was around the time Gamal Abdel Nasser became a leader in Egypt in 1952. Gely's first poem was published in 1953. He later worked as an editor for other newspapers, including El-Gamhoria and El-massa.

Political Involvement and Studies Abroad

Gely was also involved in political groups that wanted change in Egypt and Sudan. He joined the Democracy Movement for National Liberation in Egypt in 1951. He also worked with the Sudanese Communist Party until his death.

In 1964, Gely moved to the former Soviet Union to continue his studies. He received a scholarship and studied at the Gorky Institute for Arts in Moscow. He earned his master's degree in arts in 1969.

Teaching and Publishing

After graduating, Gely worked as an editor for the Moscow News newspaper. He also became a lecturer at the Oriental Institute in Moscow. He earned a Ph.D. in art theory there. While living in Russia, many of his poems were published in English, Russian, and French.

Later, Gely taught at Aden University in 1977, where he became a professor of arts and aesthetics. He stayed there for seven years. In 1983, he moved to Algeria to teach at Algeria University. He taught there until he became very ill in 1989.

Gely Abdel Rahman passed away in August 1990 in Cairo after a medical operation. He was married to Malakhat Salmanova and had two daughters, Rena and Reem.

Published Works

Gely Abdel Rahman wrote many books of poetry and other works. Here are some of them:

• Gsa'aid meen El-sudan (قصائد من السودان): This means "Poems from Sudan." It was a poetry book published in Cairo, Egypt, in 1956.
• Al-jaoo'ad we'l el-s'ef el-maksoor (الجواد والسيف المكسور): This translates to "Cavalry and Broken Sword." It was another poetry book published in 1968 and again in 1985.
• The Foreign Aid and its Influence On Sudan Independence: Gely wrote this book about political studies with his friend Taj elsir el-Hussan in 1958.
• Aganai El-zahefeen (اغاني الزاحفين): This means "Songs of the Marchers." It was a poetry book he wrote with other poets.
• Gely also translated many poems from Russian into Arabic. He translated works by famous Russian poets like Rasoul Gazamotov.
• Boab'at El-modan El-Safr'a (بوابات المدن الصفراء): This means "Gates of Yellow Cities." It was a poetry book published after Gely passed away.

Some of his works, like Altayer El-magboon (الطير المغبون) and Al-hariq w'a Ahl'am Al-balabal (الحريق واحلام البلابل), which means "Fire and Dreams of Nightingales," were not published during his lifetime.