Naïm Kattan, OC CQ FRSC (Hebrew: נָעִים קָטָן, Arabic: نعيم قطان; August 26, 1928 – July 2, 2021)[1] was a Canadian novelist, essayist and critic of Iraqi Jewish origin.

Kattan was also an Associate Professor in the Department of Literary Studies at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

A story of life, sorrow, and coming of age, Farewell, Babylon is at once a history lesson and an homage to Jewish Baghdad.

[2] It is the first of a trilogy that follows protagonist Meir as he moves from Iraq, to France and finally to Canada, a personal and professional trajectory that mirrors the author’s own.

This short story is essential to understanding Kattan’s body of work through the years, especially his relation to identity and place as themes in his writings.

[6] Kattan has been provided many titles: author and critic; academic; pluralist; Arab; Jew; Canadian and Francophone.