Caine Prize for African Writing
1 appearances
-
Edition 18 (2017) Winner
Bushra Elfadil
ブシュラ・エルファディル
Bushra Elfadil
Aliases:
Bushra al-Fadil / بشرى الفاضل
Pen Names:
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1952 （Araggi, Northern State, Sudan）
- Nationality
- Sudan
- Languages
- Arabic, English
- Residence History
- Araggi (birthplace) → Wad El-Bor (primary education) → Khartoum (worked as lecturer) → Moscow (studies) → Toronto (resident since 2018)
Career
- Occupations
- writer, former lecturer in Russian
- Active Years
- 1970-
- Affiliations
- University of Khartoum (former lecturer)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University in Moscow (unspecified) | — | Russian language and Russian literature | PhD | — | Russia (studied in Moscow) |
University in Moscow (unspecified)
Russian language and Russian literature
Degree:
PhD
Country:
Russia (studied in Moscow)
Reported to have received a PhD in Russian language and literature in Moscow; exact institution not clearly specified in available sources.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Caine Prize for African Writing | "The Story of the Girl Whose Birds Flew Away" (short story) | — | Caine Prize organization | winner |
| 2012 | El-Tayeb Salih Prize for Creative Writing in Arabic | — | — | Sudanese Ministry of Culture | winner |
Caine Prize for African Writing
2017
Work:
"The Story of the Girl Whose Birds Flew Away" (short story)
Organization:
Caine Prize organization
Result:
winner
El-Tayeb Salih Prize for Creative Writing in Arabic
2012
Organization:
Sudanese Ministry of Culture
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Story of the Girl Whose Birds Flew Away (Hikkayat al-bint allati tarrat asafiraha)
short storyA short story employing metaphor and an inventive mode of perception to explore the allure of, and threats to, freedom. Winner of the Caine Prize (2017).
freedommetaphorimaginative perception
Translations
- English translation by Max Shmookler
Al-hossan al-tayer (The Flying Horse)
children's storiesA collection of children's stories, containing elements of fantasy.
fantasychildhood
Gassied fil zil (Poems in the Shadow)
poetryA poetry collection exploring memory, shadow, and questions of existence.
memoryexistence
Above a City’s Sky
2012 short fiction / novel (uncertain)A collection depicting cityscapes and everyday lives of people; known in an English-titled edition.
cityeveryday life
Bibliography
- Hikkayat al-bint allati tarrat asafiraha (The Story of the Girl Whose Birds Flew Away)
- Azrraq Alyamama
- Al-hossan al-tayer (The Flying Horse)
- Gassied fil zil (Poems in the Shadow)
- Above a City’s Sky
Translations of Works
- The Opening Ceremony — translated by Elisabeth Jaquette
- The Story of the Girl Whose Birds Flew Away — translated by Max Shmookler
- Phosphorus at the Bottom of a Well — translated by Mustafa Adam
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- allegorical and metaphorical narrationblend of fantasy and realityemphasis on imaginative modes of perception
- Recurring Motifs
- birdsfreedomexile / migrationmemory and shadow
Legacy
A leading figure in contemporary Sudanese literature in Arabic. He gained international attention by winning the Caine Prize in 2017, the first time the prize was won for a work originally in Arabic. His work reflects themes of political repression and migration.
Quotes
-
“The winning story is one that explores through metaphor and an altered, inventive mode of perception – including, for the first time in the Caine Prize, illustration – the allure of, and relentless threats to freedom.”
Source: The Bookseller (review) (2017)
Trivia
- In 2017 he won the Caine Prize, the first win for a work originally written in Arabic.
- Expelled from the University of Khartoum after protests against the Omar al-Bashir government in the early 1990s.
- Emigrated to Toronto, Canada, in 2018.