Fuad al-Takarli (1927- Feb. 11, 2008) was an Iraqi jurist and writer. He was born in Baghdad and was friends with the pioneering poet Abdul Wahab Al Bayati in school.[1] He studied at Baghdad University, graduating with a BA in law in 1949. He then worked in the civil court at Baquba from 1949 to 1952, before moving back to Baghdad. He was appointed a judge in the Baghdad civil courts in 1956. He pursued further legal studies law in Paris between 1964 and 1966. Eventually, al-Takarli rose to become the head of the Court of Appeals in Baghdad, a position he held until 1983 when he resigned in order to devote himself full-time to writing.[2]
Al-Takarli started writing stories and plays in 1943, when he was still in his teens. His first published short story, "Al-uyun al-khudr", caught the eye of critics. His first short story collection was called Al-wajh al-akhar (The Green Eyes). His 1980 novel Al-Rajea al-Baeed (1980) is considered to be one of the masterpieces of modern Arabic literature. He started writing the novel in 1966 and completed it eleven years later. An English translation by Catherine Cobham was published in 2001, under the title The Long Way Back. Translations of Al-Takarli's work have also appeared in Banipal magazine and in anthologies of Arabic literature.
Al-Takarli returned to Paris for a brief period in the 1980s. He relocated permanently to Tunis in 1990. In 2000, he was awarded the prestigious Al-Owais Prize. He spent the last years of his life in Amman, Jordan. He died of pancreatic cancer in February 2008. He was married twice, and left behind three daughters and a son.[3]