He became famous after writing his novel “Praise of Hatred,” which was translated into six languages. It attracted attention and was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in its first session in 2008. In 2013, his novel “No Knives in the Kitchens of This City” won the Naguib Mahfouz Prize for the Novel, one of The most prominent Arabic literary honors.
Announcement
The Syrian novelist, writer and poet who won Arab and international awards, Khaled Khalifa, died on Saturday evening at the age of 59, following a sudden heart attack, according to what a source close to his family told Agence France-Presse.
His friend, the journalist Yaarub Al-Issa, who accompanied him during the last days, said, “He died inside his house alone in Damascus. We called him many times and he did not answer. We came to his house and found him dead on the couch.”
Doctors at the Abbasid Hospital in Damascus said that the diagnosis of death was a heart attack.
Khalifa, who comes from the town of Maryamin in the Afrin countryside, north of the city of Aleppo, was known in Syrian cultural circles after several Syrian series he wrote in the early 1990s that became widely popular.
He became famous after writing his novel “Praise of Hatred,” which was translated into six languages. It attracted attention and was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in its first session in 2008.
In 2013, the novel “No Knives in the Kitchens of This City” won the Naguib Mahfouz Prize for Novel, one of the most prominent Arab literary honors, and was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.
Among his well-known novels are “No One Prayed for Them” in 2019, “Death is Hard Work” in 2016, “The Notebooks of the Qarbat” in 2000, and “The Deception Guardian” in 1993.
Among the most famous series he wrote are “Rainbow” and “Biography of Al Jalali”, which conveyed the social and cultural details of the city of Aleppo, “The Godfather” series, and others.
Syrian, Arab and foreign artists, intellectuals, and journalists mourned Khalifa on social media, along with political activists inside and outside Syria.
Khalifa was known for his opposition to the authorities and his criticism of their policies in his articles and media interviews.
The great Syrian director Haitham Haqqi mourned the late, who was his partner in a number of the most important Syrian dramatic works.
Egyptian journalist Sayed Mahmoud mourned him with sorrow, saying that he lost “a piece of his heart” with Khalifa’s departure.
As for the Moroccan writer and poet Sakina Habiballah, she said, “The novel today, not only Arabic, but since the first day it was written, has been very, very sad.”
Novelist Khalil Sweileh wrote, “What a tragedy we are. We will bear his difficult death alone.”
Khalifa is scheduled to be buried in Damascus later on Sunday, without specifying the rest of the funeral and funeral details.
Additional sources • AFP
