Sleepless Nights

Ali al-Du’aji, or Ali Douagi, like al-Shabbi, combined the artistic life with an interest in anti-colonial politics. Sometimes known as ‘the father of the modern Tunisian short story,’ al-Du’aji was born into a wealthy merchant family of Turkish ancestry in Tunis. Fluent in French and Arabic and well read in modern and ancient French and Arabic literature, he formed part of a group of intellectuals, which included al-Shabbi, known as the ‘Beneath-the-Wall Group’ who met in the old medina of Tunis to discuss nationalist politics and the need to create a modern Tunisian literature. His short stories are full of narrative experimentation and explore the tensions and ironies of cultural co-existence between Arabs and Frenchmen. In total, he wrote 163 radio plays, 15 plays, 500 songs and poems and many short stories — there’s an English translation of the anthology ‘Sleepless Nights’ available made by Harvard scholar William Granara.