The iconic Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, still brings intellectuals together to discuss his powerful words and unique ideas. Yesterday, a gathering of distinguished, journalists was hosted at the Naguib Mahfouz Museum in Tekkeyet Abu El-Dahab, Al-Azhar, to celebrate the re-print of "I Love the Scent of Lemons" by journalist Seham Zohny. The book will be featured at this year's Cairo International Book Fair.
The book's author started her talk by talking about Mahfouz, and his outstanding and creative way of choosing his words. Zohny stated that the great writer was precise in his choice of words in his writings and conversations.
She enjoyed his vocabulary and the freshness of his ideas. He once told her that, at the beginning of his career, he used to "beg" publishers to release his works. Therefore, he saw this as a motivation for promising writers to persist in their literary endeavors without despair, knowing that even a Nobel laureate had once faced such struggles.
Zohny’s meetings with Mahfouz were regularly held in December, his birth month. She noted that he never liked celebrating his birthday. Since it coincided with the year's end, their discussions often revolved around reflecting on the year’s events.
During the event, several topics were brought to the table such as the presentation of women in Mahfouz's writings like Miramar, Cairo Trilogy, the controversial reception of Children of Gebelawi (Children of the Alley), and A Taste of Fear.
Resisting Illness
The author recounts that she learned the concept of "resisting illness from Mahfouz." He suffered from an eye allergy for four months every summer, preventing him from reading and writing. However, he would dedicate the rest of the year to these activities. He also told her he couldn’t write in every writing session for more than fifteen minutes.
"I Love the Scent of Lemons" is a collection of interviews that Zohny conducted with the celebrated author over several years.
These conversations were originally published in Sabah El Kheir magazine, before being compiled into a book.
The second edition includes an additional interview by the author’s son, Gamal Diab, when he was just ten years old with Mahfouz. The author described this author as
Final Moments of the Event
Towards the end of the gathering, writer Tarek El-Taher, director of the Naguib Mahfouz Museum, requested that Zohny read a few pages from her book. She chose excerpts where Mahfouz spoke about his recovery period and dreams. When he was no longer able to walk in the streets and interact with people—his primary source of inspiration—his dreams came to him instead.
He seized these visions, saying, "I grabbed onto the idea" and began writing them down, ignoring some while developing others.
Dreams of the Recovery Period was Mahfouz’s last work. Initially published in a series of articles in Nisf El-Dunia magazine, it was later compiled into a book.
The book contains 150 dreams—brief texts capturing real dreams, along with imagined ones. Mahfouz revealed to Zohny that he used to write each dream as soon as he woke up, reflecting on it without making edits, as his deteriorating eyesight prevented him from rereading them.
This book, a sincere literary endeavor and a collaboration between the Nobel laureate and the author, provides a rare and genuine opportunity to understand Mahfouz up close, with authenticity and poetic elegance.
After the events, the visitors toured the museum that included the library and desk of Mahfouz, in addition to his belongings, rare personal photos, and prizes.
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