Egyptian Modernism: From the Center to the Periphery of Arabic Literature From1907-1921, three young Egyptian intellectuals (led by ‘Abbas Mahmud al-‘Aqqad) revolutionized poetry in Egypt (Zubaidi 1970, 36). They focused on poetics (‘Abd al-?ab?r 1968, 74; quoted in Allen 1987, 52). The creative power of the imagination (al-khayal) embodied through emotion (al-wijdan) became their slogan. The unity of the entire poem—not just the single line—also preoccupied them (Jayyusi 1977:1, 154).Their promotion of a new modernity in Arabic poetry was extremely influential, not just in Egypt, but elsewhere (Allen 1998. 208) These fresh conceptions of verse in Arabic did not, however, translate into formalistic change. While ‘Aqqad, in particular, continued to publish poetic collections for decades, he did not deviate from the meter and rhyme of the qasidah (poem) developed in Preislamic times. By the 1940s, ‘Aqqad’s opposition to experiments with poetic form had hardened. He and his allies had in postwar Egypt obtained key positions within the various state cultural organizations (Dakrub 1971, 12) that attacked the practitioners of modernist verse (such as ?alah ‘Abd al-?ab?r and ‘Abd al-Muti‘ Hijazi) and prevented their access to publication (‘Abd al-?abur 1969, 50). This development negated experiments by the Apollo school (Zubaidi 1974; and Moreh 1988, 166) and a young Lewis ‘Awad (Khouri 1970) in previous decades, effectively moving Egypt from the center to the periphery of Modernism in Arabic poetry, opening an opportunity for young voices in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and other parts of the Arab world to take the high ground in the development of the Arab Modernist movement. Bibliography ‘Abd al-?abur, ?alah. Madha yabqa minhim li-al-tarikh (Cairo: D?r al-K?tib al-‘Arab?, 1968) translated and quoted in Roger M.A. Allen, Modern Arabic Literature (New York: Ungar Publishing, 1987), 52-53. ‘Abd al-?abur, ?alah. ?ayati fi al-shi‘r (Beirut: D?r al‘Awdah, 1969). Allen, Roger M.A. The Arabic Literary Heritage (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998). Muhammad Dakrub. “Al-Shi‘r al-?adith wa-al-thawrah wa-al-jumhur fi al-multaqa al-shi‘ri al-awwal,” Al-?d?b 19:1 (January 1971): 10-25. Jayyusi, Salma Khadra. Trends and Movements in Modern Arabic Poetry, 2 vols. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1977). Khouri, Mounah. “Lewis 'Awad : a Forgotten Pioneer of the Free Verse Movement,” Journal of Arabic Literature 1(1970): 137-144. Moreh, Shmuel. Studies in modern Arabic prose and poetry (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1988) Zubaidi, A.M.K. “The Diwan School,” Journal of Arabic Literature 5 (1970): 36-48. Zubaidi, A.M.K. “The Apollo School's Early Experiments in ‘Free Verse’,” Journal of Arabic Literature 5 (1974): 17-43