Ahmed Fouad Negm
Ahmed Fouad Negm
Background information
Also known as	Ahmed Negm
Born	(1929-05-22)22 May 1929
Origin	Sharqia, Egypt
Genres	Egyptian music
Occupations	Vernacular poet
Instruments	Vocals, Oud

Ahmed Fouad Negm (Arabic: احمد فؤاد نجم‎, pronounced [ˈæħmæd foˈʔæːd ˈneɡm]; popularly known as el-Fagommi الفاجومي ([elfæˈɡuːmi]) is an Egyptian vernacular poet. Born in Sharqia, Egypt on May 22, 1929, Negm is well known for his work with Egyptian composer Sheikh Imam, as well as his patriotic and revolutionary Egyptian Arabic poetry. Negm has been regarded as a folk hero and voice for the Egyptian underclass.^[1]

Background [edit]

Ahmed Fouad Negm was born to a family of fellahin the Egyptian countryside. His mother, Hanem Morsi Negm, was a housewife, and his father Mohammed Ezat Negm, a police officer. Negm was one of seventeen brothers, only six of whom are still living. Like many poets and writers of his generation, he received his education at the religious Kutaab schools managed by El-Azhar.

When his father died, he went to live with his uncle Hussein in Zagazig, but was placed in an orphanage in 1936 where he first met famous singer Abdel Halim Hafez. In 1945, at the age of 17, he left the orphanage and returned to his village to work as a shepherd. Later, he moved to Cairo to live with his brother who eventually kicked him out only to return to his village again to work in one of the English camps while helping with guerilla operations.

After the agreement between Egypt and Britain, the Egyptian National Workers’ Movement asked everyone in the English camps to quit their job. Negm was then appointed by the Egyptian government as a laborer in mechanical workshops. He was imprisoned for 3 years for counterfeiting form, during which he participated and won first place in a writing competition organized by the Supreme Council for the Arts. He then published his first collection “Pictures from Life and Prison” in vernacular Egyptian Arabic and became famous after Suhair El-Alamawi introduced his book while he was still in prison. After he was released, he was appointed as a clerk in the organization for Asian and African peoples. He also became a regular poet on Egyptian radio.

Negm lived in a small room on the rooftop of a house in Boulaq el-Dakror neighborhood. When he met singer and composer Sheikh Imam in Khosh Adam neighborhood, they became roommates and formed a famous signing duet. Negm was also imprisoned several times due to his political views, particularly his harsh criticism of Egyptian presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak.

In 2007, Negm was chosen by the United Nations Poverty Action as Ambassador of the poor.

Selected ork [edit]