Just An Ashtray

This autobiography is much more than a life story. Some people in politics, public service or in the world of arts may write their autobiography for personal purposes, so to speak. Some may think that their knowledge of characters in society, politics or business may recast an aura of importance on their own career or position in life. But this autobiography by SamÄ«á¸¥ Al-QÄsim is more of a panorama about the life of the intellectual, living almost like a prisoner in his own homeland, under the occupation of a foreign power, which has, for decades, affected his life, and the life of the average Palestinian, in a manner that has usurped the basic aspects of liberty and dignified life.

He is a retired professor of English and comparative literature, originally from Iraq. He taught at seven Arab universities until in 2004 he was invited by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai, to be his cultural adviser. In July 2012 he started his "active retirement" and settled in Cambridge, UK, producing seven books of critical studies and translations Arabic/English/Arabic. His published works have reached 57.