Who is May Ziade?
May Ziade (née Marie, with Ziade also written Ziadé, Ziyada or Ziadeh) (February 11, 1886. – 1941), was a prolific Christian Lebanese-Palestinian poet, essayist and translator. A writer for the Arabic newspapers and periodicals, Ziade also wrote a number of poems and books. She was a key figure of the Nahda in the early 20th century Arab literary scene, and is known for being an "early Palestinian feminist" and a "pioneer of Oriental feminism"."
Biography
Early life
Ziade was born in Nazareth in Palestine to a Lebanese Maronite father (from the Chahtoul family) and a Palestinian mother. Her father, Elias Ziade, was editor of al-Mahrūsah.
Ziade attended primary school in Nazareth. As her father came to the Kesrouan region of Lebanon, at 14 years of age she was sent to Aintoura to pursue her secondary studies at a French convent school for girls. Her studies in Aintoura had exposed her to French literature, and Romantic literature, to which she took a particular liking. She attended several Roman Catholic schools in Lebanon and in 1904, returned to Nazareth to be with her parents. She is reported to have published her first articles at age 16.
Well noted titles of her works in Arabic (with English translation in brackets) include:
- Al Bâhithat al-Bâdiyah باحثة البادية (Bedouin Researcher)
- Sawâneh fatâh سوانح فتاة (Platters of a Girl)
- Zulumât wa Ashiâ'â ظلمات وأشعة (Darkness and Lights…)
- Kalimât wa Ishârât كلمات وإشارات (Words and Signs)
- Al Sûhûf الصحف (Newspapers)
- Ghayat Al-Hayât غاية الحياة (The Meaning of Life)
- Al-Mûsawâtالمساواة (Equality)
- Bayna l-Jazri wa l-Madd بين الجَزر والمد (Between the Ebb and Flow)
Awards
In 1999, May Ziade was named by the Lebanese Minister of Culture as the personage of the year around which the annual celebration of "Beirut, cultural capital of the Arab world" would be held.
Born Marie Elias Ziade
February 11, 1886
Nazareth, Palestine
Died October 17, 1941
Cairo, Egypt
Pen name May Ziade
Occupation Writer
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