Birth: NULL/NULL/1886 Death:NULL/NULL/1941
Born in Nazareth in Feb. 1886 – originally as Marie Zakhrouf – to a Palestinian mother and a Lebanese father; educated at At-Yusifiat Catholic School in Nazareth, then in Ein Toura, Lebanon; moved with her family to Cairo in 1907, where she studied at the Egyptian University; started publishing her poetry in both French and Arabic under the pen-name Isis Copia in her father’s newspaper, Al-Mahrusa; published in 1911 her first poetry collection – Fleur de Rêve – in French in the Al-Hilal newspaper, using the name Isis Copia, and a year later, another collection – “Aidah’s Diary” – under the pseudonym Aidah; then settled upon her nickname May; launched a literary salon in 1912; studied History, Philosophy and Modern Sciences at the Egyptian University from 1914-17; also studied the Qur’an under a number of Azharite sheikhs and was guided in Arabic language and calligraphy issues by the famed Egyptian liberal theorist Lutfi Al-Sayyid; was a talented speaker, poet, essayist, and translator (German, English, French and Arabic); also concerned about the advancement of women, East-West relations, and Islamic heritage; wrote several books, incl. Reflections of a Girl (Arabic, 1922); following the death of her parents, was sent to a mental hospital in Lebanon, until friends interfered, succeeding in her release; returned to Egypt, where she died in 1941; was buried in Cairo.
