1965 Al-Qessa Magazine No 13 Arabic Short Story Literary Journal Mahmoud Taymour

This is the original first edition copy of Al-Qessa (مجلة القصة) magazine, Issue No. 13, published in January 1965 (العدد الثالث عشر - السنة الثانية - يناير سنة ١٩٦٥). Spanning 160 pages of exquisite, dense short stories, theatrical criticisms, and academic essays, this prominent literary monthly was printed in Cairo, Egypt by the historic National House for Printing and Publishing (Al-Dar al-Qawmiyya lil-Tebaa'a wal-Nashr). Operating under the high-profile state sponsorship of The Ministry of Culture and National Guidance (وزارة الثقافة والإرشاد القومي), this landmark journal was conceptualized during the monumental peak of the Gamal Abdel Nasser administration. Rather than acting as a simple commercial newsstand monthly, Al-Qessa served as the premier, intellectual frontline organ dedicated to establishing a distinct, post-colonial Arab narrative style. The historical weight of this periodical is completely anchored by its elite editorial board, helmed by the undisputed founding father of the modern Egyptian short story and novel, Mahmoud Taymour (محمود تيمور, 1894–1973). Taymour, a towering member of the Academy of the Arabic Language, leveraged this highly selective platform to publish pioneering vanguard narratives alongside the works of legendary mid-century Arab novelists, critics, and playwrights, shaping the structural boundaries of contemporary literature and localized realism. The stunning front cover is a masterpiece of mid-1960s Egyptian graphic realism and abstract sketch illustration. The upper register features a bold, deep olive-green block carrying the main title "القصة" in magnificent, custom white hand-drawn display calligraphy. The lower cream-toned field hosts a breathtaking, high-contrast black pen-and-ink line drawing depicting a poignant narrative scene: a beautiful, melancholic woman with rich, wavy dark hair occupies the foreground, while a sharp-jawed gentleman or professional figure stands contemplatively in a trench coat behind her against a backdrop of geometric, horizontal architectural slats. The artwork is elegantly signed by a premier Cairo studio graphic illustrator. Because softcover literary periodicals from this highly influential, restricted state-subsidized initiative were produced on delicate paper stocks intended for rapid academic reading and active writer circles, their archival survival rates are incredibly close to zero. The vast majority of the short print run was absorbed by university holdings, heavily handled by contemporary scholars, or lost to time. This pristine, complete specimen represents an unrepeatable acquisition for global institutional libraries, curators of Middle Eastern literary history, translation researchers, and elite private collectors of rare Arabic ephemera. • Title: Al-Qessa Magazine / مجلة القصة • Issue Configuration: Year 2, Issue No. 13 (January 1965) • Editor-in-Chief: Mahmoud Taymour (محمود تيمور) • Publisher / Provenance: National House for Printing and Publishing / Ministry of Culture, Cairo, Egypt • Length: 160 Complete Pages • Genre: Short Stories, Literary Criticism, Avant-Garde Fiction & Intellectual Essays • Art Style: Mid-Century Arab Abstract Pen-and-Ink Realism & Classic Two-Tone Typography