Rose Ghorayeb

Rose Ghorayeb (, born 1909 – died 2006) was a Lebanese writer, author, literary critic, and feminist. She was a professor of Arabic literature at the Lebanese American University and was frequently referred to as the "first female critic in Arabic literature". Regarded as a pioneer in aesthetic criticism, her literary career spanned more than 70 years and included many children stories, articles, biographies and plays.

Biography Ghorayeb was born in Damour, Lebanon in 1909. In 1932, she graduated from the American Junior College for Women in Beirut, a predecessor to the Lebanese American University. In 1948, the college renamed itself the Beirut College for Women. After graduating, she taught Arabic literature at Iraqi universities from 1937 to 1941, and then returned to Lebanon, continuing her studies at the American University of Beirut. After completing further studies in literary criticism, she taught Arabic literature at the Beirut College for Girls for more than forty years, eventually becoming the head of its Arabic literature department.

She published extensively in many regional Arabic magazines and journals from 1943 to 1980. As a women's rights activist, she regularly wrote for the Lebanese monthly magazine The Woman's Voice. Amongst her most notable works was a biography on the Lebanese-Palestinian poet May Ziadeh, who was regarded as a pioneer in Middle Eastern feminism in the early 20th century. From 1983 to 1993, she served as the editor of Al-Raida, the journal of the Lebanese American University's Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World.

Ghorayeb received the National Cedar Medal in 1972 as well as the Lebanese Gold Medal of Achievement in 1980.

Works

al-Naqd al-jamali wa atharuhu fi-l-naqd al-‘Arabi ("Aesthetic Criticism and Its Impact in Arabic Criticism"), 1952 al-Tawahhuj wa-l-uful: Mayy Ziyada wa adabuha ("Stars Flicker and Set: Mayy Ziyada and Her Works"), 1978 Nasamat wa a‘asir fi-l-shi‘r al-nisa’i al-‘Arabi al-mu‘asir ("Breezes and Cyclones in Contemporary Arab Women’s Poetry"), 1980 Aswat ‘ala-l-haraka al-nisa’iya al-mu‘asira ("Voices on the Contemporary Women’s Movement"), 1988 Aghani al-sighar ("Songs of the Young"), poetry, Beirut: Catholic Press, 1948 Laylat al-milad ("Christmas Night"), children's literature, Beirut: Maktabat al-Mash‘al, 1957 Khutut wa zilal ("Lines and Shadows"), short stories, Beirut: Dar al-Rayhani, 1958 Hadiqat al-ash‘ar li-l-awlad ("The Garden of Children’s Poetry"), poetry, Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-Lubnani, 1964 Sunduq Umm Mahfuz ("Umm Mahfuz’s Box"), children's stories, Beirut: Bayt al-Hikma, 1970 al-Ma‘ni al-kabir ("The Great Amir"), novel, Beirut: Bayt al-Hikma, 1971 Nur al-nahar ("Light of Day"), short stories, Beirut: Bayt al-Hikma, 1974 Ruwaq al-lablab ("The Ivy Curtain"), short stories, Beirut: Dar al-Fikr al-Lubnani, 1983