This essay was developed from an interview/conversation between academic, critic, novelist, and translator, Amin Al-Ayouty, and professor Hoda Gindi (held in 2015). The interview (conducted in a mixture of English and Arabic) was attended by Hala Kamal and recorded by Dalia Ebeid. The essay was written by Hala Kamal, edited by Hoda Gindi and approved by Amin Al-Ayouty; it was then printed in the booklet marking the 90th Anniversary of the Department of English Language and Literature (celebrated in December 2015). Al-Ayouty speaks here about his early years as a student at the Department in the late 1940s under the British occupation. He provides little known information about his British professors, his seniors and colleagues in the Department, as well as a description of the offices and classrooms. Al-Ayouty shares his memories of a most significant moment in the history of the Department – the ‘nationalisation of the Department’ when the Egyptian young faculty replaced the British in 1951. His reminiscences end with a reflection on the influence of literature on his own creative writing.
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