Ulfat Idilbi

Ulfat Idilbi ( _ar. ألفت الادلبي "ArabDIN|Ulfat al-Ādlibi") (1912 – 2007) was one of the most beloved Syrian novel writer. She wrote books that became best sellers in Arabic world such as "Dimashq ya Basimat el Huzn" ("Damascus - the Smile of Sadness", 1980), translated into many languages and filmed as "Basimat al Huzn" (TV series).

Biography

Born in 1912, in traditional damascene family. She was affected by French occupation of country (French Mandate, 1919), and educated herself by reading widely the books in the library of her author uncle, Kazem Daghestani.Fact|date=January 2008 After then Ulfat begun to write and publish stories about Syrian resistance movement, injustice of the aggressor and people involved into struggle for their lives, freedom and independence of their country (that was already exhausted by rule of Ottoman Empire).

Later she became a lecturer, wrote novels and essays on social position of woman (in Middle East), the pressure woman is undergone to and suffer she passes, often spending it in her own, non-existent world.

She has a daughter.

Last decades of her life, she spent between Damascus and Paris, where she passed away in 2007.

Damascus - the Smile of Sadness

This is most famous novel by Ulfat Idilbi, telling a story about a girl that grown in times of nation wide chaos (1920s), caused by French occupation. Her national conscious became to self-develop, which was hardly pursuited by her family in term of that "eastern girl cannot hold a fight, especially political". Injustice and deprivations by which she underwent, caused by occupants and by her family, loss of her beloved and her vow of not forgeting him are the basis of the story. It's been read as left by Sabriyeh (main character) in her diary, found after her death.

Under many circumstances, most of aspects included are authors vision of reality, which Ulfat was a witness to, therefore should be considered as dramatized history.

Bibliography

Novels
* "القرار الأخي" /"ArabDIN|"al-qarar al-akheer""/ (1947) - "the Last Decision"
* "قصص شامي" /"ArabDIN|"qisas shami""/ (1954) - "Damscene Stories"
* "وداعاً يا دمشق" /"ArabDIN|"uda'an ya sham""/ (1963) - "Goodbye, Damascus!"
* "يضحك الشيطان" /"ArabDIN|"youdHak ash-shaytan""/ (1974) - "The Devil Will Laugh"
* "نظرة في أدبنا الشعبي" /"ArabDIN|"natharat fi adabna sh'bia""/ (1974) - "the Vision in our People's Decencies"
* "عصي الدمع" /"ArabDIN|"'asi ad-domou3""/ (1976) - "Mutiny of Tears"
* "دمشق يا بسمة الحزن" /"ArabDIN|"dimashq ya basimat el huzn""/ (1981) - "Damascus - the Smile of Sadness"
* "نفحات دمشقي" /"ArabDIN|"nafaHat dimashqi""/ (1990) - "the Fragrances of Damascus"
* "حكاية جدي" /"ArabDIN|"Hekayat jddi""/ (1999) - "Story of My Grandfather"