Salah Jahin was not only a poet, playwright, lyricist, cartoonist and painter but also used artistic expression to
serve his thought. His art and thought always had patriotic motives.
Salah Jahin (1930 - 1986) has had a singular effect on development of colloquial Arabic poetry in Egypt.
To explore a new literary world Fouad Haddad (1930 - 1985) created a colloquial poetry that dared to be
not only innovative, but revolutionary. His work legitimized experimentation and the search for new and different
resources.
Salah Jahin mastered colloquial writing with ease, producing poetry of a simple and concise nature with a
profound effect.
His genius lay in his sensitivity, his ability to tune in to the faintest vibrations of feeling in the world around him,
his technical resources developed, his work became more spontaneous in its effects. His themes return
constantly to the idea of a society struggling to free it-self from the bonds of the past, thus freeing its literary
artists to use new forms of expression.
Founder of the Modern Egyptian School of Cartoon
The all-round Salah Jaheen set standards that are unlikely to be surpassed in the literary and artistic circles.
Jaheen shone at all the posts to which he was appointed. He was the first cartoonist offered the editorship of a
weekly magazine in Egypt. The national awakening that accompanied the 1952 Revolution was best illustrated
throughout his poetry, musicals and cartoons.
The creative colloquial poetry he composed is considered as the 1952 Revolution’s historical record - hence
the title "Poet of the Revolution".
Mohammed Salah el-Din Helmi Bahgat, known as Salah Jaheen, was born on 25 December 1930 in Cairo. His
father was a judge and the family had to move from one governorate to another. This, however, helped shape
his patriotic fervour which was manifested in his attitude towards the Revolution. He graduated from Cairo
University with a degree in law.
Jaheen & Cartoon
Jaheen’s career in journalism started in the early 50’s. In 1955, he worked as an amateur cartoonist in Rose El-
Youssef. One year later, when the first issue of Sabah el-Khair saw the light of day, he turned professional.
There, he had the opportunity to shine to such an extent that he was appointed Editor-in-Chief. In 1957, Jaheen
visited the former Soviet Union, then, wrote a book entitled "A Flower in Moscow" about his impression of the
journey. In 1964, Jaheen moved to "Al-Ahram".
At the age of 13, Jaheen’s immense talent for drawing first appeared. When he was a student in Assuit
preparatory school, the art teacher asked his student to draw a picture of a storm in a forest. Jaheen’s picture
gained the teacher’s admiration and drew his attention to the remarkable talent the little boy possessed. The
teacher’s words were a great encouragement to him. His father who was an art-lover always encouraged him to
develop his talent. Jaheen’s cartoons did serve to highlight vital issues in Egypt and the Arab World as well. He
is the founder of the modern Egyptian cartoon school. The brilliant success of Jaheen’s cartoons arose out of
the fact that he done them in the best interest of the people. Among Jaheen’s remarkably innumerable cartoon
series were Hashish Addicts, Vigor Coffee-house and the Government Departments.
Jaheen & Colloquial Poetry
Jaheen’s colloquial poetry bore many interesting features of the cartoons he did. It is mainly characterized by the
creative use of lexical items, startlingly intense images and well-planned compact structures. It becomes very
dear to every heart once read or listened to. Jaheen, thus, set the trend for others to follow.
His quatrains written in 1963 mark the emergence of situation poetry as a genre of modern folk literature. They
successfully manifest Jaheen’s philosophical viewpoint of life, death, existence, man and the eternal struggle
between good and evil. Each of Jaheen’s quatrains ends ironically with "Wonders will Never Cease!".
Jaheen & Songwriting
Jaheen introduced a wide range of vocabulary that was only used in political articles to songwriting. Among the
songs that helped create the revolutionary awareness and stir the patriotic fervour were: "We’re the People",
Jaheen’s first song written in 1956, "Oh Weapon, Be Ready", "Rebels", "Oh Freedom, Here’s Nasser",
"Welcome Battles" and "Paradise is my Country" .
The simplicity and spontaneity of Jaheen’s songs which evoke echoes of that cherished epoch in Egypt’s
modern history make them remembered for ever. The last song he wrote was" Those are the Egyptians".
Jaheen, Visual Arts
In the film industry, Jaheen was a producer, scriptwriter and actor as well. In December 1969, Jaheen
produced five television musicals, all based on popular folk tales, such as "The Zoo" and "Hashim and
Rawhiya". He also wrote the "Ramadan Riddles" for television for several successive years.
As an actor, Jaheen played a variety of roles in "No Time for Love", "The Thief and the Dogs", "The Martyr of
Divine Love", "The Mamelukes", to name but a few.
He wrote the scripts of the television drama serial "He and She" and of many cinema films - "The Return of the
Lost Son", "Be careful, she is Zozo", "Amira My Sweetheart" and "Shafiqa and Metwalli", giving only these as
examples.
Jaheen also wrote for the puppet theatre. His first production "Hassan the Shrewd" written in 1958 was
followed by "A Feddan of Freedom" and "The Devil’s Mill". As nothing succeeds like success, Jaheen, then,
wrote his remarkably distinguished masterpiece "The Big Night" operetta.
He created most of the children’s television puppet serials favorite characters such as "Shehab el-Din’s
Donkey" "Nono the Elephant" and "The Chatterbox". It is no wonder that, in September 1962, the Ministry of
Culture assigned Jaheen the task of setting up a committee on children’s culture.
Awards
In December 1965 Salah Jaheen was awarded Order of Science and Arts First Class.
