Koumoutsi has won several awards for her translations of Arabic literature into Greek, including the International Cavafy Prize and the King Abdulaziz Achievement Award.
She is the author of nine novels and founded the non-profit Centre for Greek and Arabic Literature and Culture in Greece.
Ahram Online (AO): As a cultural bridge between Egypt and Greece, what is the greatest challenge in translating Egyptian literature into Greek, and how do you navigate linguistic and cultural differences?
Persa Koumoutsi: Translating from Arabic into Greek has always felt natural to me. It’s challenging, but familiar. I was born and raised in Egypt and have spoken both languages since childhood. I attended the Greek school in Egypt, where Arabic was taught from the first grade through high school, then studied at Cairo University.
Alongside English literature, I took Arabic language and literature courses for two years, both contemporary and classical prose and poetry.
Those were compulsory subjects, but they quickly became beloved. From an early age, I read Arabic literature and translated passages into Greek and English for university work.
I also took courses in simultaneous translation (Arabic–English and vice versa) at the American University in Cairo (AUC). In hindsight, those early exercises were rehearsals for a career in literary translation that has now spanned more than 35 years.
The greatest challenge is conveying the environmental and cultural nuances of a text in a European setting.
A literary text is not a compilation of translated words; it is a process of communication and creative re-creation in a different linguistic and cultural environment. That requires mastery of both languages and an in-depth knowledge of the source culture.
Living “in” Egypt for almost 23 years before returning to Greece in the mid-1980s made the process more natural for me, but it was never easy.
Each sentence required research, reflection and long hours of pondering every nuance, hidden and apparent. My earliest translations took more than two years each; we didn’t have the internet or the tools translators use today. It was a demanding, solitary battle with words, idioms and symbolism, and utterly captivating.
AO: Winning prestigious awards for your translations must have helped your mission. How has that acclaim affected interest in Egyptian culture among Greek readers?
Koumoutsi: When I began translating Arabic, and Egyptian literature in particular, in the early 1990s, Greeks—and many Europeans—knew very little about it.
There were many misconceptions about the language and the culture. As a translator, I felt a responsibility to approach texts with care and innovation, enabling non-Arab readers to understand and appreciate them without destroying their original literary charm.
Literal, word-for-word translation makes literature colourless; my aim was always to keep the scent and spirit of the original.
I think I succeeded in that respect: my early translations sold over 25,000 copies, an unprecedented figure for Greece’s small book market.
However, the opening of the Greek market to Arabic literature coincided with repeated economic crises that hit the publishing sector hard. Publishers grew cautious, and fewer foreign titles were taken on.
The awards helped sustain my work on a stronger footing and enabled me to promote texts that were not commercially obvious, for example, Arabic poetry. Today, Arabic poetry is much more esteemed in Greece; for the first time, Arabic poems in translation have been included in Greek high-school curricula.
AO: You are both a writer and a translator. How does your craft of translation influence your own original creative writing, and vice versa? Do you find a creative dialogue between the two roles?
Koumoutsi: They are intertwined and interconnected. Literary translation is not a mechanical transfer of words or phrases from one language to another in a precise or semi-precise order; it’s a creative, artistic process. There are two types of translation: applied translation, suitable for documents, historical or scientific texts; and compositional or literary translation, which recreates literary structure and cultural systems. The latter cannot be literal.
Every literary translation is an interpretation and a linguistic adaptation according to the rules of the target language. We don’t simply translate documents; we rewrite and recreate the original so that the foreign reader can enter the writer’s world regardless of cultural peculiarities. That act of re-creation feeds back into my own writing, enriching my sensibilities and craft.
AO: Of all the literary works you have translated, which one did you feel the deepest personal connection to, and why was it important for you specifically to bring that voice into the Greek language?
Koumoutsi: I have translated more than 40 prose works and over 1,000 poems, and I cherish them all.
If I must choose, I would say Alf Layla wa-Layla by Naguib Mahfouz and Doa al-Karawan by Taha Hussein. These works affected me immensely.
Alf Layla wa-Layla overflows with universal symbolism and serves as a profound allegory of life and human nature. Doa al-Karawan moved me because of its lyricism and the sensitivity of its themes.
AO: As an ambassador for Egyptian literature, which Egyptian writer do you feel eager to translate or promote in the future? What are your upcoming projects?
Koumoutsi: Egyptian literature is a vast sea of wonderful writers; I wish I had two more lives to translate everything I want from the classical and modern writings. I have embarked on translating The Days by Taha Hussein, a lifelong dream. I am finishing the first part, which I hope will be published in 2026.
AO: What advice do you have for young people who aspire to pursue a career in literary translation and to build bridges between cultures?
Koumoutsi: Translation is a multifaceted process that occurs both inside and outside the text.
It is more than comparing original and target texts; it is an esoteric interaction between the author, the translator, and the reader, not mere piles of linguistic features.
It requires heightened sensitivity, exceptional awareness, and a willingness to transcend one’s own cultural identity to inhabit the author’s world.
I tell young translators that they must love both the language and the culture they translate from and into. Language matters, but so does knowledge of the culture’s history and background. Translation is a process of discovery and role exchange: the translator must be prepared to serve as mediator, interpreter, and re-creator.
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