Interview | Dr. Shawkat Al-Masri: Culture is the shield of identity… and its homes are the irreplaceable starting point

Monufia has woven its own cultural fabric since ancient times, opening its arms to art, storytelling, poetry, and science without hindrance, just as its land has opened its heart to fertile agriculture and various folk and traditional arts, intertwining with the capital in a charming and attractive harmony.

Dr. Shawkat Al-Masri, assistant professor of modern literary criticism at the Academy of Arts in Cairo, is an active intellectual and one of the symbols of the cultural scene in Egypt. He was not only born in Monufia, but also became its son by choice and cultural formation, since his early years at the Faculty of Arts in Shebin El-Kom. He found a second home in the Palace of Culture and a miniature homeland in literary clubs. He moved between sound and text in his creative work, until he became one of the names betting on culture’s ability to save the soul.