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Ibrahim Fathi (; 1931 2019) was an Egyptian writer, intellectual and critic of the 1960s. He was called the dean of leftist intellectuals; he has numerous articles and papers published in various Arabic and foreign periodicals. In addition, Fathi was briefly a part of HADETU ( Al-Haraka Al-Dimuqratiya Lil-Tahrir Al-Watani; Arabic for: The Democratic Movement for National Liberation). Fathi was honored in 2018 at the Supreme Council of Culture of Egypt for his intellectual output and role in enriching the intellectual life. In addition, Naguib Mahfouz praised his writing by criticizing his works.
In 1959, he was imprisoned for his political affiliations. After being released in 1964, he started his thought and criticism project. His articles were published in poetry and cultural magazines, as well as in Yahya Haqqi’s magazine, The Majalla. Given his knowledge of English language and French language, he edited a section of the magazine that deals with presenting topics discussed in foreign magazines.
He contributed in founding a political organization that brought together young poets, critics, writers and journalists, such as poets Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi, Sayed Hijab, critics Sabri Hafez, Ghalib Halasa and Sayed Khamis, writers Gamal al-Ghitani and Yahya Taher Abdullah, journalist Salah Essa, and translator Khalil Kalfat. Therefore, he was detained once again in September 1966. French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s condition for visiting Cairo prior to the Six-Day War, however, was for them to be released.
He also participated in founding The Writers of Tomorrow Society, which has played a prominent role in Egyptian cultural, intellectual and political life since the end of the 1960s. The Society published some literary publications, most notably The Face of Egypt poetry collection by Zayn al-Abideen Fuʼad, Entrance to Tagore Gardens by Izzat Amer and Thirsty for Seawater by Mohammed Ibrahim Mabrouk.
He also wrote the introduction of the story collection Papers of Love and Thirst by Mohammed Abdel Rahman and poetic works of Samir Abdel Baqi and Sayed Hijab upon being published by Dar Al Fikr Publishing.
He called himself "the sidewalk critic" as he used to meet writers outside the institutional framework where he kept up with their works of criticism.
He had a weekly seminar in Atelier Cairo in the 1980s and 1990s, where he discussed literary and intellectual works.
His book The Narrative World of Naguib Mahfouz received considerable attention for resisting the negative view of the left about Mahfouz’s writings. He also wrote important articles preaching about 1960s generation writers outside political organizations and was the first to present Ibrahim Aslan, Yahya Taher Abdullah, Mohamed el-Bisatie, Mohamed Hafez Rajab, Bahaa Taher and Gamal al-Ghitani.
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