Dialogues of Naguib Mahfouz: Literary obsessions By Mohamed Salmawy We were talking about obsession and how integral it is for a writing career. A true writer is someone who cannot stop writing, regardless of what he does for a living. Naguib Mahfouz once told me that although he was a government employee during the day, writing was the main occupation in his life. Upon graduating from college, Mahfouz joined the Ministry of Religious Endowments. The minister at the time was Abdel-Salam Al-Shazli, a strict disciplinarian. Al-Shazli noticed that some employees used to come late to work, so he ordered the ministry to close its gates at 8am sharp. Any employees arriving past that time wouldn't be allowed inside and would have to forfeit a day of holiday. Those who repeatedly came late would be fined half of their monthly salary. The minister prevented the public from going into the ministry. Anyone wishing to enter the ministry would be met at the door by an official who would enquire about their business and take action. People dropping by for private visits to employees were sent away. Those who had legitimate business were made to wait until the nature of their business was clarified. If employees were ready to receive them, visitors were given an exact time for an interview. If their business was not completed on time the employee in question would be fined half a month's salary. "Al-Shazli Pasha was so strict that he prohibited eating and reading papers in the ministry's premises. The cafeteria was allowed to serve only coffee and tea, and any employee caught eating a sandwich or reading a paper was fined half a month's salary," Mahfouz told me, laughing as he remembered the details. "It was just my luck to be the parliamentary secretary of that minister. I recall that he asked me once to prepare an answer to a parliamentary debate. I prepared the answer and took it with me in an envelope to the parliament. When I arrived at the minister's office there, I gave him the envelope and left. While I was waiting outside the office, I opened another envelope that was with me to go over a story I had written for the magazine Al-Risala and had to submit on the same day. When I opened that envelope, I discovered that it contained the answer I should have handed to the minister. "I was scared, for I realised that the minister had the envelope that contained the story. I rushed like a madman into the minister's office to switch the envelopes. Luckily, Al-Shazli Pasha was busy talking to someone else, but still he asked me what I was doing. I said not to worry and switched the envelopes quickly. Imagine what would have happened had the minister went to parliament to read his answer and started reading a romantic story instead! But this is what writing is all about. A writer has to be obsessed with writing."
