Abdel Maqsoud Abdel Karim is a poet, translator, and psychiatrist. He was born on June 1, 1956, according to official records—in the village of Tanaml, located in the heart of the Nile Delta (in the Aga district of the Dakahlia Governorate). In August 1963, he moved with his immediate family to Cairo. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Ain Shams University in 1980 and earned a Master’s degree in Psychiatry and Neurology from the same institution in May 1987. He spent his professional career at Al-Matareya Teaching Hospital, where he served as the head of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology from 1997 to 2010. He has authored over ten poetry collections, seven of which have been published by various publishing houses. Furthermore, he has translated more than sixty books—not including those he has edited or reviewed. His translations span a diverse range of subjects: literary works (including poetry, novels, and correspondence), literary studies (covering both Western and Arabic literature), psychological studies, and interdisciplinary works that bridge psychology and literature. His translations have been published by a wide array of Egyptian and Arab publishing houses, including the General Egyptian Book Organization, the National Center for Translation, Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation, the General Authority for Cultural Palaces (Mass Culture), Dar Afaq, Dar Al-Ain, Safhat Sab’a, Dar Jalees, Al-Mutanabbi Bookstore, Dar Yasturoun, and Dar Madarik. Among his most notable works:
Poetry:
- *Crowded with Kingdoms* (Azdahimu bil-Mamalik): Aswat, 1980.
- *Crowded with Kingdoms* (1988): General Egyptian Book Organization, 1992.
- *The Dream Descends with Its Dreamer*: General Authority for Cultural Palaces, 1993; Family Library, 2007.
- *The Servant Has Dwellings and a Mount*: Family Library, 2001.
- *Diaries of the Servant on the Edge of the Princess’s Well*: General Egyptian Book Organization, 2012.
- *A Counterfeit Copy*: Supreme Council of Culture, 2016.
- *As If It Never Was*: Dar Afaq (Cairo), 2021.
- *The Last Symptoms of My Humanity*: Hindawi Foundation website.
- *Days 2014*: Forthcoming.
Translations:
- *Fantasia of the Unconscious* by D. H. Lawrence: Dar Al-Hilal, 1993; 2nd edition, Dar Afaq (Cairo), 2018.
- *Wisdom, Madness and Folly* by R. D. Laing: General Egyptian Book Organization, 1996.
- *Contemporary Literary Theory and the Reading of Poetry* by Bashbandar: General Egyptian Book Organization, 1996; 2nd edition, Family Library, 2005.
- *The Palace of Laughter* by Zbigniew: General Authority for Cultural Palaces, 1997.
- *Jacques Lacan and the Seduction of Psychoanalysis* (various authors, edited and translated by the author): Supreme Council of Culture, 1999. - *Slow Man*, J. M. Coetzee: General Egyptian Book Organization, "Awards" Series, 2007.
- *Istanbul: Memories and the City*, Orhan Pamuk: General Egyptian Book Organization, "Awards" Series, 2008.
- *Elizabeth Costello*, J. M. Coetzee: General Egyptian Book Organization, "Awards" Series, 2008.
- *Disgrace*, J. M. Coetzee: General Egyptian Book Organization, "Awards" Series, 2009.
- *I Am Orhan Veli* (Selected Poems of Orhan Veli): "Global Horizons" Series, General Authority for Cultural Palaces, 2009.
- *The Glass Palace*, Amitav Ghosh: National Center for Translation, 2009.
- *Freud, Proust, and Lacan*, Malcolm Bowie: National Center for Translation, 2009.
- *Shakespeare’s Ideas: More Things in Heaven and Earth*, David Bevington: Afaq Publishing, in collaboration with the National Center for Translation, 2010.
- *Fatal Attraction*, Suzanne Leonard: National Center for Translation, 2010.
- Day, A. L. - *Kindi*, "Awards" Series, General Egyptian Book Organization, 2010.
- *Adaptation and Appropriation*, by Julie Sanders, National Center for Translation, 2010.
- *Ali and Nino* (novel), by Kurban Said, "Global Horizons" Series, 2010.
Second edition, Dar Al-Ain, 2019.
- *Translation Scandals*, by Lawrence Venuti, National Center for Translation, 2010.
- *Personality, Personality Disorder and Violence*, edited by Mary McMurran and Richard Howard, National Center for Translation, 2012.
- *The O. Henry Prize Stories 2007*, 2011, "Awards" Series, General Egyptian Book Organization.
- *Steve Jobs*, Bloomsbury-Qatar Foundation, 2012.
- *The Quest for Consciousness*, by Christof Koch, National Center for Translation, 2013. Second edition, 2021, Dar Safha 7, Saudi Arabia.
- *Climate Change: Science and Policy*, by Andrew Dessler and Edward A. Parson. Parsons, National Center for Translation, 2014.
Hindawi Foundation website
- *Narrative and Identity: Studies in Autobiography, Self, and Culture*, edited by Jens Brockmeier and Donal Carbaugh, National Center for Translation, 2015.
- *Writing and Representation in Medieval Islam*, edited by Julia Bray, National Center for Translation, 2015.
- *Moon Palace*, by Paul Auster, National Center for Translation, 2015.
- *Mr. Vertigo*, by Paul Auster, National Center for Translation, 2015.
- *I, Mina*, 2015, Bloomsbury-Qatar Foundation.
- *Millions*, 2015, Bloomsbury-Qatar Foundation.
- *Symbolic Worlds: Art, Science, Language, Ritual*, by Israel Scheffler, National Center for Translation, 2016.
- *The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: Arabic Literature to the End of the Umayyad Period*, National Center for Translation (2017).
- *Lady Chatterley's Lover*, by D. H. Lawrence, Dar Afaq (2017).
- *The Childhood of Jesus*, by J. M. Coetzee, "Awards" series, General Egyptian Book Organization (2017).
Also titled *The Childhood of Christ* on the Hindawi website.
- *Olive's Ocean*, Bloomsbury-Qatar Foundation. - *Dirty Genes*, Ben Lynch, Qatar, 2019.
- *Global Health Diplomacy in the 21st Century*, National Center for Translation, 2019.
- *Individuation and Narcissism*, Mario Jacoby, Dar Al-Ain, Cairo, 2019.
- *The Letters of Ernest Hemingway* (in two volumes), Dar Afaq for Publishing and Distribution, Cairo, 2019.
- *Phantoms in the Brain*, V.S. Ramachandran, Safha 7 Publishing and Distribution, Saudi Arabia, 2020.
- *Man’s Search for Meaning*, Viktor Frankl, Safha 7 Publishing and Distribution, Saudi Arabia, 2020.
- *A Cry for Meaning*, Viktor Frankl, Safha 7, Saudi Arabia, 2021.
- *The Wisdom of Psychopaths*, Kevin Dutton, Safha 7 Publishing and Distribution, Saudi Arabia, 2021.
- *On Death and Dying*, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Safha 7 Publishing and Distribution, Saudi Arabia, 2021.
- *When the Sun Sets*, Ashok Sahni, Dar Al-Abeen, 2021.
- *Machines Like Me*, Ian McEwan, Al-Dar Al-Ahliyya for Publishing and Distribution, Jordan, 2021.
- *The Hidden Muslim: Journeys Through Whiteness and Islam*, Medina Tenour Whiteman, Dar Jalees, Kuwait, 2022.
- *When Christians First Met Muslims: A Sourcebook of the Earliest Syriac Writings on Islam*, Michael Philip Penn, Dar Jalees, 2022, Kuwait
- *101 Ways to Transform Your Life*, Wayne W. Dyer, Dar Jalees, 2022, Kuwait
- *The Garden of Eden*, Hemingway, Al-Mutanabbi Bookstore, Saudi Arabia, 2022
- *The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: Modern Arabic Literature*, edited by M. M. Badawi, National Center for Translation, 2022
- *The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness*, R. D. Laing, Dar Afaq, Cairo, 2022
- *Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect*, Jonice Webb, Dar Afaq, 2022
- *Running on Empty No More*, Jonice Webb, Dar Afaq, 2022
- *The Voice of Experience*, R. D. [Laing] Lange, Afaq Publishing, 2022
- *The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue*, V. E. Schwab, Jalees Publishing, Kuwait, 2022
- *The Unconscious God*, Viktor Frankl, Afaq Publishing, 2022
- *Memoirs of My Nervous Illness*, Schreber, Al-Mutanabbi Bookstore, Saudi Arabia, 2022
- *Alexandria Cosmopolitan*, Hala Halim, National Center for Translation, 2023
- *Animal Farm*, George Orwell, Al-Mutanabbi Bookstore, Saudi Arabia, 2023
- *1984*, George Orwell, Al-Mutanabbi Bookstore, Saudi Arabia, 2023
- *The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind*, Gustave Le Bon, Al-Mutanabbi Bookstore, Saudi Arabia, 2023
- *Scoop*, Evelyn Waugh, Yastaron Publishing, Saudi Arabia, 2023
- *Not I, But the Wind...*, Frieda Lawrence, Yastaron Publishing, Saudi Arabia, 2023
- *The Enlightenment: An Interpretation*, Vol. 1: *The Rise of Modern Paganism*, Peter Gay, National Center for Translation, 2024
- *The Enlightenment: An Interpretation*, Vol. 2: *The Science of Freedom*, Peter Gay, National Center for Translation, 2024
- *The Cruel Critique of Everything That Exists*, Andrew Feenberg, Madarek Publishing, Saudi Arabia, 2024
In Press
- *The Tenant*, Katrine Engberg, Al-Ahliya Publishing and Distribution, Jordan
- *Mr. Skeffington*, Elizabeth von Arnim, Yastaron Publishing, Saudi Arabia
- *The Book of Illusions*, Paul Auster - *Woman’s Body, Woman’s Word*, by Fedwa Malti-Douglas
- Selections from American Poetry
Study:
- The Aesthetics of Dream and Oblivion: A Study of Dreams and Poetry
