Humphrey T. Davies


Humphrey T. Davies was a British translator of Arabic fiction, historical and classical texts. Born in Great Britain, he studied Arabic in college and graduate school. He worked for decades in the Arab world and was based in Cairo from the late 20th century to 2021. He translated at least 18 Arabic works into English, including contemporary literature. He is a two-time winner of the Banipal Prize.

Life and career

Born in London on 6 April 1947, Davies studied Arabic at Cambridge University and the American University in Cairo's Centre for Arabic Studies Abroad in the 1960s. After working in the Arabic world and as a translator for years, he completed a PhD in Arabic in 1981 at the University of California, Berkeley.
Davies worked for NGOs and funding institutions in a number of countries in the Arab world, including Save the Children in Palestine and the Ford Foundation in Sudan. He began translating in 1997. From the early 21st century, he focused solely on literary translation.
He died from pancreatic cancer in London on 12 November 2021, at the age of 74.

Translations

Davies translated both classical and colloquial Arabic texts and noted in particular his "respect for colloquial Arabic." He worked in collaboration on the El-Said Badawi Dictionary of Egyptian Arabic. Davies began translating while working on a critical edition and lexicon of Yusuf al-Shirbini's Hazz al-Quhuf bi-Sharh Qasid Abi Shaduf, a 17th-century Egyptian text on Ottoman rural culture. This is considered a valuable source for the period's colloquial Egyptian Arabic.
Davies' first published translation was a short story by Sayed Ragab, which appeared in Banipal magazine in 2000. Subsequent translations included several well-known works of Arabic literature, including Alaa Al-Aswany's The Yacoubian Building. His 2004 translation was voted one of 50 outstanding translations in the last 50 years by the British Society of Authors. His translation of Lebanese writer Elias Khoury's novel Gate of the Sun, won the English PEN "Writers in Translation" award and the Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation.
Davies said that when he translated the work of a living author, he made it his practice to call upon the author for advice. His work has been published by AUC Press, Words Without Borders, and Banipal.
Other translations include:Thebes at War, a novel by Naguib MahfouzFriendly Fire, a collection of short stories by Alaa Al-AswanyBeing Abbas el Abd by Ahmed AlaidyPyramid Texts by Gamal al-GhitaniThe Mahfouz Dialogues by Gamal al-GhitaniBlack Magic by Hamdy el-GazzarTales of Dayrut by Mohamed MustagabLife Is More Beautiful Than Paradise by Khaled al-BerryYalo, a novel by Elias Khoury Sunset Oasis, a novel by Bahaa Taher As Though She Were Sleeping by Elias KhouryChildren of the Ghetto by Elias KhouryMidaqq Alley, a novel by Naguib MahfouzLeg Over Leg by Ahmad Faris ShidyaqIn Darfur: An Account of the Sultanate and Its People by Muḥammad al-Tūnisī

Books

A Field Guide to the Street Names of Central Cairo by Humphrey T. Davies and Lesley Lababidi

Awards and honours