We are a public forum committed to collective reasoning and the imagination of a more just world. Join today to help us keep the discussion of ideas free and open to everyone, and enjoy member benefits like our quarterly books.
Georges Henein (1914-1973) was an Egyptian poet and journalist. The son of a Coptic diplomat, Henein was educated in Europe and developed close ties to André Breton and the French Surrealists. In the 1930s he founded the Cairo Surrealist group, Art et Liberté, and helped to build a community of engaged artists including Edmond Jabès, Joyce Mansour, Albert Cossery, and Ramses Younane. Having fallen out of favor with President Nasser due to his staunch anti-fascist principles, Henein left Egypt in 1962 and settled in France, where he worked as a journalist for L’Express and Jeune Afrique, continuing to write poems that went mostly unpublished until after his death.
Poetry
between a head-nod and a head-butt
between greeting and bolting
between the clothes of courtesy and of the guillotine
the difference is barely visible
A political and literary forum, independent and nonprofit since 1975. Registered 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more about our mission