Life & contribution
Baghdad-born writer and critic who later became a major figure in Canadian literary and cultural life while continuing to write about identity, migration and memory.
Detailed biography & historical context
Baghdad-born writer and critic who later became a major figure in Canadian literary and cultural life while continuing to write about identity, migration and memory.
The documented record currently assembled for Naïm Kattan includes the following: Born in Baghdad in 1928, he studied in Iraq and Paris before settling in Montreal in 1954. Published more than thirty books across fiction, essays and memoir, including Farewell Babylon, and became an important figure in Canadian literary life.
This figure is important to the literary history of Iraqi Jews because writing became a way to preserve language, memory and the experience of belonging to Iraq before and after migration. The record also shows the continuing relationship between Arabic, Hebrew and diaspora literary cultures.
Archive classification: Literature & Cultural Life. Recorded life dates/status: 1928–2021.
This profile synthesizes the documentary sources listed below; where the record is limited or contested, the dossier avoids unsupported detail.
Additional documented context
- Born in Baghdad in 1928, he studied in Iraq and Paris before settling in Montreal in 1954.
- Published more than thirty books across fiction, essays and memoir, including Farewell Babylon, and became an important figure in Canadian literary life.
Documentary references
Additional biographical details are tied to the source records below.
Permanent ID · IJHDA-PER-0035
This biographical figure record is integrated into Discover Jewish Iraq from the Virtual Embassy’s Iraqi Jewish heritage collection.