Hanna Mina

Hanna Mina حنا مينة
Born	(1924-03-09)9 March 1924 Latakia
Died	21 August 2018(2018-08-21) (aged 94) Damascus, Syria
Occupation	Novelist
Language	Arabic
Nationality	Syrian
Literary movement	Social Realism

Hanna Mina (Arabic: حنا مينة; 9 March 1924 – 21 August 2018) was a Syrian novelist, described in Literature from the "Axis of Evil" as the country's "most prominent" writer.^[1]

His early novels belong to the movement of social realism in the literature of Syria, and focus on class conflict; his later works contain "a more symbolic analysis of class differences".^[1] His writing on the suffering of ordinary people was partly inspired by his own experiences, alternately working as a stevedore, barber and journalist; his autobiographical short story, "On the Sacks", was published in 1976.^[1]

Several of his works written in Arabic are set during the period of the French Mandate of Syria, or in the period immediately following independence.^[1] Mina has authored about 40 novels, varying in imaginary value and narrative significance. But his achievement lies in the foundation he laid for this literary genre. For his collective works and novels, Mina was awarded the Arab Writer's Prize in 2005.^[1]