Don Quichotte (magazine)

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Don Quichotte
Editor Henri Curiel
CategoriesPolitical magazine
FrequencyWeekly
Founder
Founded1939
First issue6 December 1939
Final issueMay 1940
Country Egypt
Based in Cairo
Language French

Don Quichotte was a weekly Communist publication which existed between 1939 and 1940 in Cairo, Egypt. The title, which was given by Henri Curiel, a cofounder, was a reference to Gabriel Alomar, a Catalan poet and writer. [1]

History and profile

In 1939 Henri Curiel, Raoul Curiel and Georges Henein launched Don Quichotte, and the first issue appeared on 6 December that year. [1] [2] They were part of the Art et Liberté movement, and the magazine was one of the periodicals published by them. [3] Henri Curiel was the editor of the magazine which was published in French on a weekly basis. [2] [4] Its headquarters was in Cairo. Don Quichotte covered social and class issues in addition to news from Egypt and other countries and featured articles about arts, science, fashion and sports. [1] However, the ultimate goal was to create a platform to oppose the emerging threat of European Fascism. [5]

The contributors were both Communists, including Raymond Aghion, Lutfallah Sulayma and Albert Simon, and artists, including Marcelle Biagini, Henri Dumani, Edouard Levy, Marcel Laurent Salinas, Sayf Wanli and Angelo de Riz. [1] The former group was the members of the Democratic Union founded by Marxists while the latter group included Egyptian artists and intellectuals. [5] Don Quichotte ceased publication in May 1940 after producing six issues. [2] [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Don LaCoss (Spring 2010). "Egyptian Surrealism and "Degenerate Art" in 1939?". The Arab Studies Journal. 18 (1): 105. JSTOR   27934079.
  2. 1 2 3 Evelyne M. Bornier (1999). Georges Henein, Poete Des Marges (PhD thesis) (in French). Louisiana State University. pp. 42, 120. ISBN   9780599474321.
  3. 1 2 Sam Bardaouil (2013). ""Dirty Dark Loud and Hysteric": The London and Paris Surrealist Exhibitions of the 1930s and the Exhibition Practices of the Art and Liberty Group in Cairo". Dada/Surrealism. 19 (1): 1–24. doi: 10.17077/0084-9537.1273 .
  4. David Renton (2013). Dissident Marxism: Past Voices for Present Times. London: Zed Books. p. 71. ISBN   978-1-84813-650-2.
  5. 1 2 Rami Ginat (2014). "The Rise of Homemade Egyptian Communism: A Response to the Challenge Posed by Fascism and Nazism?". In Israel Gershoni (ed.). Arab Responses to Fascism and Nazism: Attraction and Repulsion. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. p. 202. doi:10.7560/757455. ISBN   978-1477307571.