AL-IRANI, MAHMOUD SEIF EDDIN (1914-1974)

Born in Jaffa in 1914; graduated from the Frères College in Jaffa in 1929; worked for the British government before beginning his writing career as columnist for various Palestinian newspapers and periodicals, incl. Filastin, Ad-Difa’, Al-Jama’ Al-Islamiyya and At-Talee’a; in 1935, co-produced, together with Aref Azouni, Al-Fajr weekly literary magazine in Jaffa since 1935; worked as Arabic Language teacher in Jordan since 1940; then became school principal and inspector for the Jordanian Ministry of Education; in 1961, joined UNESCO and was sent to Paris; upon his return appointed as Director of the Arabic section in the Jordanian Ministry of Culture and Information; served as cultural advisor in the Ministry from 1971 and as editor-in-chief of Afkar magazine; known for his educational books and literary work like The First Strike (Arabic, 1937) about revolutionary western authors such as D.H. Lawrence and Katherine Mansfield; wrote short stories such as With the People (Arabic, 1956) and Jordan and the UNESCO (1965); translated Stories from the East and West (1969) and plays written by Samuel Beckett and William Saroyan; died in Amman on 31 May 1974.