A detailed biography for the truly curious …
Tarek Eltayeb was born in Cairo in 1959, the son of Sudanese parents. Until 1967 he spent the long summers in El-Arish, a small city on the Mediterranean in the north part of the Sinai peninsula, and spent the winters in the center of Cairo. After the 1967 war his family moved to Ain Shams in the north of Cairo, a district with large Sudanese and Egyptian Coptic communities.
Between the ages of four and six, Eltayeb attended a Koranic school, where his interest in the classical Arabic language first began to develop. After elementary school and middle/high school, Eltayeb studied Business Administration at the Ain Shams University in Cairo, obtaining his Bachelors in 1981. From 1982 to 1984 he worked as an accountant in Cairo, before spending six months in the north of Iraq.
Eltayeb has been living in Vienna since 1984. He financed his studies at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration via numerous jobs: by distributing pamphlets, selling newspapers, washing dishes, teaching Arabic, and then later as a translator and interpreter. His dissertation, which he wrote at the Institute for Economic Philosphy, was entitled “The Transfer of Ethics via Technology in the Struggle between Identity and Profit.”
He received his Doctorate in Social and Economic Sciences in 1997, and is currently a Professor at the International Management Center / University of Applied Sciences in Krems, Austria.
He has been writing since 1985.
Fellowships and Awards
- Elias Cannetti Fellowship of the City of Vienna, 2005
- Commemorative Fund of the (Literar Mechana) 2005
- Major Project Fellowship for Literature, 2003
- Buchprämie für „Städte ohne Dattelpalmen“, Winter 2003
- Major Project Fellowship for Literature, 2002
- Major Project Fellowship for Literature, 2001
- Travel Fellowships from the Chancellory (Bundeskanzleramt): 2002, 2003 and 2004
- Work Fellowships from the Chancellory: 1996, 1998, 2005
Publications
In Arabic:
- Bayt An-Nakhil (The Palm House). Novel, Al-Hadara Publishing House, Cairo 2006.
- Mudun Bila Nakhil (Cities without Palms). Novel, Al-Kamel Press, Cologne 1992;
2nd Edition, Al-Hadara Publishing House, Cairo 1994. 3rd edition, Al-Hadara Publishing House, Kairo 2006. - Takhlisat (In Clear). Irhab al-ayn al-bayda. Poetry, Merit Press, Cairo 2002.
- Udhkuru Mahasin … (Remember Mahasin). Short stories, Sharqiyyat Press, Cairo 1998.
- Al-Gamal La Yaqif Khalfa Ishara Hamra (A Camel does not Stop on Red). Short stories, Al-Hadara Publishing House, Cairo 1993.
- El-Asanser (The Elevator). Play, El-Salam Press, Cairo 1992.
In French:
- Villes sans palmiers. A translation of the novel. Paris 1999.
In Macedonian:
- қαмен ūоςоΛем оδ ңебоŵо (A Stone Bigger than the Sky). Poetry. Skopje 2005.
In German:
- Aus dem Teppich meiner Schatten. Gedichte. edition selene, Wien 2002.
- Städte ohne Dattelpalmen. A translation of the novel; edition selene, Wien 2000.
- Ein mit Tauben und Gurren gefüllter Koffer. Prosatexte und Gedichte zweisprachige Ausgabe (deutsch/arabisch); edition selene, Wien 1999.
Some poems and prose texts have also been translated into English, Italian, Macedonian, French and Ukranian. Publications of short stories, prose texts and articles in Arabic periodicals such as An-Naqid (London), Faradis (Paris), Ibdaa (Cairo) AI-Ahram (Cairo), AI-Quds AI-Arabi (London), An-Nahar (Beirut), Kalimat (Bahrain), Shu’un Adabiya (U.A.E.), Sutour (Cairo), Amkina (Alexandria), Jehat Al-Shaer (Bahrain), Elaph (London), Kikah (London), Masharef (Ramallah) etc, and in:
- Literatur und Kritik, (neue Lyrik aus Österreich), Salzburg März 2006,
- ATLAS 01, Anthology, International Literature in English, New Delhi, Mumbai, London, Leeds, Cambridge, San Antonio, CROSSWORD 2006
- Lisan, Zeitschrift für arabische Literatur, Nr. 1, Basel, Lisan Verlag 2006
- UND, Bild und Schrift, Künstlerinnen und Schriftsteller, Bildhauer und Dichterinnen, Atrium ed Arte, Ritter Verlag 2006
- Sardines and Oranges by Eltayeb Salih, Anthology in English, short stories from North Africa, Banipal, London 2004
- Die Kinder von Rainer und Maria. Anthologie österreichischer Lyrik in ukrainischer Übersetzung. Kiev 2004
- Facetten, Literarisches Jahrbuch der Stadt Linz. (Bibliothek der Provinz, Linz – Wien – München – Weitra 2004)
- Ein Tag Honig, ein Tag Zwiebeln. Ähnlichkeiten, Bilder, Gleichnisse, Sprichwörter aus 15 Kulturen. (Edition Volksbildung, Wien 2004)
- Macht Religion Sinn? Eine BAWAG-Anthologie über Gott und die Welt (Ueberreuter, Wien 2002)
- Afrikaner in Wien (Hrsg. E. Ebermann, Wien 2002)
- diwan (Zeitschrift für arabische und deutsche Poesie, Berlin 2002);
- Podium (Nr. 121/122, 2001 und 123/124, 2002, St. Pölten)
- Fikr wa-Fann (Kulturzeitschrift in arab. und dt. Sprache; Berlin 2002)
- Zwischen zwei Heimaten, Leben in Wien: Gedanken nach fast 17 Jahren, (Wienerzeitung, Extra 15./16.9.2000)
- Die Fremde in mir (Anthologie; Hrsg. H. A. Niederle, Klagenfurt/Laibach1999)
- Manuskripte (Nr. 143/1999 Graz)
- Banipal (English Literary Journal, London 1998, 2000, 2004)
- Interkultureller Kalender 1996/97 (Verband Wiener Volksbildung, Wien 1996)
- Anderswo (Fotobuch Nr. 17/1996, Wien)
- Jeder ist anderswo ein Fremder (Anthologie, Hrsg. Ch. Stippinger, Wien 1995)
Readings in Vienna (including at the Alte Schmiede, Literaturhaus, Nationalbibliothek, Afro-Asiatisches Institut, Sofiensäle, Hauptbücherei Wien, Salon), Linz, Saalfelden, Graz, Salzburg, Washington, Cairo, Alexandria, Asyout, Frankfurt, La Rochelle, Aachen, Krefeld, Neuss, Roermond.
Participant at International Literature Festivals in Smederevo (Serbia) 2006, Jan smrek (Slovakia) 2006, Novi Sad (Serbia) 2006, Maastricht (Netherlands) 2006 Lemberg (Ukraine) 2005, Dublin (Ireland) 2005, Vienna (Literatur im März) 2005, Dornbirn (Austria) 2004, Struga (Macedonia) 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002, Poitiers (France) 1999.