Remembering a legend: Bayram al-Tunisi

CAIRO – 5 January 2022: January 5 marks the passing anniversary of the pioneer of Egyptian vernacular poetry, renowned poet Bayram al-Tunisi.

Tunisi passed away on January 5, 1961, leaving behind a great poetic and lyrical heritage.

The “Planet of the East”, Umm Kulthun, sang a group of masterpieces that was written by the late poet, as well as a group of lyrical operas between radio, cinema and theater.

Mahmoud Bayram al-Tunisi was born in 1893. He is an Egyptian poet of Tunisian origin.

His Tunisian family came to Egypt in 1833 when his paternal grandfather immigrated to Alexandria in 1833 and resided there.

Al-Tunisi lived his childhood in Al-Anfoushi neighborhood. His fame began when he wrote his poem "The Municipal Council", in which he criticized the Alexandria Municipal Council for imposing heavy taxes.

Then the doors of art opened in front of him, so he began his busy career. He had published the Al-Masalla magazine in 1919, and after its closure he issued the magazine “El-Khazouq”, which was also confiscated.

At the time, the authorities denied him to his country Tunisia, because of an article in which he attacked Princess Fouad’s husband, the daughter of King Fouad.

However, because of the suppress of the French to Tunisians, he traveled To France, and worked as a porter in the port of Marseille for two years.

He was deported in 1932 from France to Tunisia after it expelled foreigners, and there he re-published the newspaper “Al-Shabab” and began to travel between Lebanon and Syria.

The French authorities deported him from Syria to one of the African countries, and on his way to exile the ship stopped at Port Said port, where he succeeded in landing in Port Said, and hurried to meet his family, then submitted a petition to the palace through one of the influentials in it, and he was pardoned.

By then,  Farouk was on the throne. Bayram finally was able to write in “Akhbar Al-Youm”, then in “Al-Masry” newspaper, then in “Al-Gomhoria”.

Al-Tunisi left a rich poetic legacy among the Arabic songs.

Abdel Nasser granted him the Egyptian nationality in 1960, and also granted him the State Appreciation Award, and that was prior to his death, on January 5, 1961.