Born and raised in Alexandria, al-Tunisi was nevertheless considered a "foreigner" due to his father's Tunisian origin[1] and he was exiled from Egypt from 1919 to 1938[2] and was finally granted Egyptian citizenship in 1954.

However, he learned the pure Arabic art of poetry by listening to oral presentations in the form known as zajal.

These satirical ballads, based on the traditional zajal form, were critical of both the British occupation to Egypt and the Egyptian monarchy, which was referred to as a puppet.

Bayram coined the term ʾadab al-ʾisʿāf (أدب الإسعاف)[3] (the "literature of rescue") to describe "the successful rejection of external threats, the reorientation and redistribution of power in society, and construction of a strong and independent nation.

"[4] In addition to zajal, of which Bayram al-Tunisi was considered a master,[5][6] he was proficient with maqama which he preferred in much of his later output.