Although he is known as ‘the father of the Tunisian short story,’ Ali Du'aji made important contributions to the literary magazine al-‘alam al-adabi. These are unknown to the west and all but forgotten or overlooked by contemporary Tunisian academic literary circles. Al-‘alam al-adabi, founded in 1930 by the Tunisian novelist Zin al-‘Abdin al-Snusi, contributed to the vibrant literary culture that dominated the 1930s and 40s in the city of Tunis. The importance of shedding light on this journal and Ali Du‘aji’s work in it, lies in the fact that he was recently dismissed by the current Tunisian minister of education (on a public television program: Essaraha raha) where he described one of Du‘aji’s short stories as ‘immoral’ and suggested its removal from school textbooks. As one of the founders of the Avant-Gardist literary group Jama‘at taht al-sur (Under the Wall Café), Du‘aji lived a short life (1909-1949) and was estranged from his aristocratic milieu for the sake of living an enriched literary life. This paper explores the unknown contributions of Du‘aji to al-‘alam al-adabi and the importance of taking a look at his largely forgotten work, especially with his art being denigrated by an elected official who oversees the national education system. As the issue of Tunisian identity predominates national political debates in Tunisia and abroad today, a close look at Du‘aji’s work will show how Du‘aji – and the Tunisian avant-garde of the 30s – was concerned with the same issues we are confronted with today such as the role of traditions in society and the lack of education. Furthermore, Ali Du‘aji’s short story contributions to al-‘alam al-adabi display an effort to take literature beyond the aristocratic or traditional/moral world of ordinary people and into the unconventional world of his socially marginalized characters. He proceeds to do so with a grand sense of humor and a desire to shake the ‘socio-religious’ restrictive and overly domineering norms of Tunisian society with simple narrative techniques that convey his bohemian art and vision of life. There is no doubt that many of Du‘aji’s works have been neglected because of his unconventional writing and his personal rebellious lifestyle, which brought upon him more censure than praise when he wrote in the 30s but also today.