Fakhri Kawar

Fakhri Kawar (Arabic: فخري قعوار, 9 June 1945 - 8 October 2024) was a Jordanian writer and parliamentarian. He was born in the Jordanian town of Al-Jafour near the border city of Mafraq in 1945. He was educated in Jerusalem, where he received the General Secondary Education Certificate (Tawjihi) from the Ibrahimieh College in Jerusalem in 1964. He later enrolled in Beirut Arab University to earn a BA in Arabic language and literature in 1971. He died in Amman on 8 October 2024.

Career

Kawar worked upon graduation as a teacher in several private schools in each of Zarqa and Amman. He also worked at Yarmouk University in Irbid for several months in the mid-1970s. The Prime Minister at the time, Mudar Badran, dismissed Kawar from his post after the latter published an article entitled "Amman fi el-Qalb" Amman is in the heart" in the Al Ra'i newspaper.

Kawar was elected as member of the Parliament of Jordan in 1989, he ran for Amman 3rd district's seat.

Literary works

Kawar published his stories in several Jordanian and Arab newspapers and magazines.

Membership

Kawar was a member of the Jordanian Writers Association since it was established in 1974. He was elected a chairman of the association for four rounds and was the editor-in-chief of the association's Awaraq Magazine.

He was also the editor-in-chief of Wisam, a children's magazine, in the mid-1980s. In 1992, Qawar was elected the General Secretary of the Arab Writers Union in the conference that was held in Amman, he was re-elected for the same position in 1995.

Satirical influence

Kawar wrote the script of one of Jordan's earliest comedy television operas called "The Diary of Farhan Sa'eed Farhan". He also wrote the script for a popular satirical radio program called "Dar Abu Warrad," or the House of Abu Warrad, in the mid-1990s, in addition to another program called "Kol Youm Hikya" ("A Story for Every Day"). In 2009 the Greater Amman Municipality published Kawar's satirical works in one volume.

Publications

1. Three Voices, 1972
2. Why Did Susie Cry Too Much?, 1973
3. No Chess Playing is Allowed, 1976
4. I Am the Patriarch, 1981
5. The Barrel, 1982
6. Job, the Palestinian, 1989
7. The Dream of a Night Guard, 1993
8. A Man and a Woman, translated 1996