Talent and Torment: The Emotional Burden of Literary Genius in Modern Sudanese Writing

Abstract

This article explores the emotional and psychological burden carried by literary genius in modern Sudanese writing, through the works and tragic lives of four highly gifted figures: Abdel Rahim Abu Zikra, Moawya Mohammad Nur, alTijani Yusuf Bashir, and Idris Jamma’ whose paths ended in collapse, silence or early death. By interpreting their poetry, prose and personal histories against the political and cultural pressures of colonial and post-independence in Sudan, the article traces how exceptional intellectual sensitivity collided with exile, ideological fracture and the absence of sustained institutional support. Forces that proved pivotal in shaping their arduous journeys and were instrumental to their tragic outcomes. Rather than treating suffering as a romantic or inevitable feature of creativity, the discussion situates these lives within wider patterns of cultural dislocation and national disillusionment. Through textual engagement and historical reflection, the article foregrounds the human cost of literary production in contexts where belonging, stability, and fulfilment remained persistently out of reach.