Radwa Ashour facts for kids

Radwa Ashour (Arabic: رضوى عاشور) (born May 26, 1946 – died November 30, 2014) was a famous Egyptian writer. She wrote many novels and was known for her important stories.

About Radwa Ashour

Radwa Ashour was born in El-Manial, Egypt. Her father, Mustafa Ashour, was a lawyer who loved books. Her mother, Mai Azzam, was a poet and artist. Radwa grew up surrounded by creativity and a love for reading.

Her Education Journey

Radwa was a very smart student. She went to Cairo University and earned her first degree in 1967. She continued her studies there and got her master's degree in literature in 1972.

Later, she traveled to the United States to study even more. In 1975, she earned her PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her special area of study was African-American literature. She was one of the first people to get a PhD in English by studying this topic. After finishing her studies, she taught at Ain Shams University in Cairo.

Family Life and Activism

In 1970, Radwa married Mourid Barghouti, who was a poet from Palestine. They had a son named Tamim al-Barghouti in 1977. Tamim also grew up to be a poet, just like his parents!

Radwa was not just a writer and teacher; she was also an activist. This means she worked to bring about change and support important causes. From 1969 to 1980, she spent a lot of her time studying, raising her son, and being active in her community.

In 1977, her husband, Mourid, was asked to leave Egypt. He moved to Hungary, but Radwa and Tamim stayed in Cairo. They often visited him, keeping their family close despite the distance.

Radwa Ashour passed away on November 30, 2014, after dealing with health issues for some months.

Her Amazing Books

Radwa Ashour wrote many wonderful books. Here are some of her most well-known works:

• The Journey: Memoirs of an Egyptian Student in America, published in 1983. This book shares her experiences as a student.
• Warm Stone, published in 1985.
• Khadija and Sawsan, published in 1989.
• I Saw the Date Palms, a collection of short stories from 1989.
• Specters, which was translated into English in 2010.
• Al-Tantouria, published in 2010.

Books She Edited

Radwa Ashour also helped edit other books.

Awards She Won

Radwa Ashour received many awards for her writing. Here are some of them:

• In 1994, her book Granada Trilogy won an award at the Cairo International Book Fair.
• In 1995, Granada Trilogy won another prize at The First Arab Woman Book Fair in Cairo.
• In 2007, she won the Constantine Cavafy Prize for Literature.
• In 2011, she received the Owais Prize.

Her Books Around the World

Many of Radwa Ashour's books have been translated so people in other countries can read them.

• Granada Trilogy was translated into Spanish and English.
• Siraj was translated into English.
• Atyaaf was translated into Italian.
• She also has short stories that have been published in English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish.

Remembering Radwa Ashour

On May 26, 2018, Google Doodle celebrated what would have been Radwa Ashour's 72nd birthday. This shows how important and remembered she is around the world.