Hassan Daoud

(Lebanon, 1950) after his study of Arabic Literature Daoud worked as a journalist during the civil war in Beirut, among other things as a correspondent for the Arabic newspaper al-Hajaat, published in London. Right now he is executive editor of the cultural pages of the daily paper al-Mustakbal. In addition to literature and culture he occupies himself intensively with daily events in Lebanon and the Middle East. His commentaries on social and political events appear in both Arab and European papers, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung being one of them. In his literary writing Daoud refuses to concern himself with the ‘rhetoric of heroism and tragedy’ of many authors writing about the Lebanese civil war. Instead he aims his attention on the microcosm. Most of his novels are set in Beirut. The House of Mathilde (1983) depicts the life of muslims and christians in an apartment building in Beirut. Daoud, who himself grew up in a home with muslims, christians, Druzes and immigrants from Russia and Armenia, portrays a highly detailed picture of the daily life of the tenants. Between the lines the backgrounds of recent Lebanese social and political history are made visible. Daoud has published two collections of short stories and nine novels.