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Ihsan Abdel Kouddous (1919–1990) is one of the pillars of modern Arabic literature, a prolific writer of novels and stories. Dozens of films were based on his stories and his novels, such as Al-Wissada al-Khaliya (The Empty Pillow), La Tutfi’ al-Shams (Don’t Blow out the Sun), Anf wa Thalat ‘Auyoun (A Nose and Three Eyes), Al-Nadharah al-Sawda’ (The Black Glasses), Al-Khait al-Rafi’ (The Thin Thread), Ayna ‘Aqli (Where is my Mind), Ukhti (My Sister), Ghaba min al-Siqan (A Forest of Legs), Fi Baytina Rajul (A Man in the House), and more.

Introducing the Banipal 71 feature on him, the magazine's editor Samuel Simon wrote: "I will not be exaggerating if I say that I have read more than thirty books by Ihsan Abdul Kouddous, and I can say today (2021) that he is the most daring and honest Arab writer in all that he wrote, more than any other writer until today. And if Rose El-Youssef (his mother) revolutionized the world of the Arab press and freedom of expression in the Arab world, then the brave writer Ihsan Abdel Kouddous has erased the red lines of censorship set by state or society."

The Feature in Banipal 71 was the result of a serendipidous connnection between translator Jonathan Smolin and Samuel Shimon. It includes excerpts from both books of Ihsan Abdel Kouddous translated by Jonathan Smolin – I Do Not Sleep (Hoopoe Fiction, 2021) and A Nose and Three Eyes (also Hoopoe Fiction), together with part of his introduction to I Do Not Sleep, as well as the translation of the title story of Kouddous's collection Al-Binaat wa-l Saif (Girls in Summer) by Raphael Cohen, and articles about the author by Hassouna Mosbahi and Mahmoud al-Ghitani.

Below a couple of the Arabic front covers of different editions of La Anaam (I Do Not Sleep).

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