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Al Tatawwur (Arabic: تطور, lit. 'The Development') was an Arabic language literary and cultural magazine published in Egypt in the period January–July 1940. It was the first avant-garde, surrealist and Marxist-libertarian publication in the Arab world.[1][2]
| Categories | Literary magazine |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Founder | Art et Liberté |
| First issue | January 1940 |
| Final issue | July 1940 |
| Country | Egypt |
| Based in | Cairo |
| Language | Arabic |
Al Tatawwur was started by a radical leftist group called Art et Liberté or al fann wa al hurriyya (Arts and Freedom in English) in 1940, and the first issue appeared in January that year.[1][2] The founder of the group was Kamel Telmissany which supported the revolutionary imagination and social freedom and had an anti-colonial stance.[2] Al Tatawwur was the successor of another magazine entitled Al Majalla Al Jadida which was established by Salama Moussa and published between 1929 and 1944.[2][3] The editor of Al Tatawwur was a surrealist intellectual, Anwar Kamel.[4] He declared the goals of the magazine in the first issue as follows: "to defend the freedom of art and culture, to spread modern literary works, and to Egyptian youth with international literary, artistic, and social movements."[3] The first issue also featured Arabic translations of the poems by the French surrealist Paul Éluard.[5]
During its short lifetime Al Tatawwur frequently covered topics such as prostitution, sex and women's sexual freedom.[2] The articles on women's sexual freedom were mostly written by Abdul Hamid Al Hadadi.[2] Other contributor was Faisal Abdul Rahman Shahbander.[2] Ramses Younan, a painter and writer, published art critics in the magazine.[6]
Al Tatawwur was published on a monthly basis until July 1940 when it folded after producing seven issues.[4] The magazine was closed down by the Egyptian authorities.[3] Following the closure of Al Tatawwur its editor Anwar Kamel was jailed due to his writings published in the magazine.[7]
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