Professor Allen Wins Prize for Arabic Literary Translation

Roger M.A. Allen has been awarded the 2012 Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, for his translation of A Muslim Suicide by Bensalem Himmich. Allen is the Sascha Jane Patterson Harvie Professor Emeritus of Social Thought and Comparative Ethics and Professor Emeritus of Arabic and Comparative Literature in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in the School of Arts and Sciences.

The Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation is an annual prize of £3,000, awarded to the translator(s) of a published translation in English of a contemporary Arabic work of literary merit. Entries are judged by a panel of four distinguished authors, critics, and literary experts, two of whom read and consider both the Arabic original and the English translation.

In their announcement, the judges stated, “A Muslim Suicide is a highly ambitious and erudite work that opens up remarkable historical, cultural, and religious perspectives on the Islamic heritage. It is a highly challenging, yet deeply enriching read in its English translation. This is chiefly due, however, to the immense insight and long and hard-earned cultural and linguistic awareness of its translator. It is very hard indeed to imagine anyone besides Roger Allen capable of bringing this serious book alive to English readers.”

Allen is the author of numerous articles and translations, in addition to an anthology of critical writings and a major study on the Arabic novel which is widely used throughout the world, including at several Arab-world universities. The first person to obtain a doctorate in modern Arabic literature at the University of Oxford, he joined the Penn faculty in 1968.