Rashid al-Daif

Rashid al-Daif is a Lebanese writer and novelist, born in Zgharta, Lebanon, in 1945. He is Professor of Arabic Literature at the University of Lebanon and his published works include 19 novels and three poetry collections. His novel Dear Mr Kawabata (1995) has been translated into eight European languages, and Paula Haydar’s 2001 English translation of al-Daif’s This Side of Innocence (1997) received Foreword magazine’s silver award in the category of best work of fiction in translation. His novel Passage to Dusk (1986) was made into a French-language film with the same title, released in 2000; and a film entitled Zennar An Nar (The Belt of Fire) – based upon the novel The Tyrant (1983) – was released in 2004, directed by Lebanese director Bahij Hojeij. His novel Paving the Sea (2011) was IPAF-longlisted in 2012.