ARABIC POETS
Creative Writing around the world Biographies by Romanian, Greek, Korean, French , Moroccan and Spanish students. School -year 2018/2019
Biography written by Aya Zerhouni & Ainhoa Valero Sources : PHOTO FROM https://www.timesofisrael.com/broadcast-on-palestinian-poet-darwish-puts-army-radio-in-crosshairs/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Darwish
MAHMUD DARWISH He was born in Al-Birwa, British Mandate of Palestine, 1941. He was a Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as the Palestinian national poet. Darwish left Israel in 1970 to study in the Soviet Union, then he moved to Egypt and Lebanon. He joined the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) in 1973, he was banned from reentering Israel.
After Israeli forces assaulted his village of al-Birwa in June, 1948, the family fled to Lebanon
Over his lifetime, Darwish published more than 30 volumes of poetry and eight books of prose His most popular books are: Journal of an Ordinary Grief If I Were Another: Poems Mural Music of Human Flesh
Many of Darwish's poems were made into songs: "Rita and the Rifle," "I lost a beautiful dream In 2008 Darwish starred in a film narrating his poem "A Soldier Dreams of White Lilies" He was a political activist.
He died in August 2008 (aged 66) in Houston, Texas, United States.
Biography Research (Sources) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Mutanabbi https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Mutanabbi http://www.princeton.edu/~arabic/poetry/al_mu_to_sayf.html
Poet’s name:
Al-Mutanabbi ﻟﻣرﺳﺎل Photo / portrait
Life and Interesting facts: -Date and place of birth: 915 Kufa,Abbasid Caliphate (Now Najaf, Iraq) - Al-Mutanabbi was the son of a water carrier who claimed noble and ancient descent from the Kindah tribe. Owing to his poetic talent, and claiming predecession of prophet Saleh, al-Mutanabbi received an education in Damascus, Syria. When Shi'ite Qarmatians sacked Kufah in 924, he joined them and lived among the Bedouin, learning their doctrines and dialect.
End of life: -
23 September 965 (age of 50)
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Al-Mutanabbi was killed ( because one of his poems contained a great insult to a man called "Ḍabbah al-Asadī". Dabbah, along with his uncle Fāṫik al-Asadī (Arabic: )ﻓﺎﺗك اﻷﺳدي, managed to intercept al-Mutanabbi, his son Muḥassad (Arabic: )ﻣﺣﺳّد, and his servant near Baghdad
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Burial Place: Numaniyah,Abbasid Caliphate
Claiming to be a Nabi (Arabic: ﻧَـﺑِﻲ, Prophet) — hence the name Al-Mutanabbi ("The Would-be Prophet") — he led a Qarmatian revolt in Syria in 932. After its suppression and two years of imprisonment, he recanted in 935 and became a wandering poet. It is during this period that he began to write his first known poems. Al-Mutanabbi had great political ambitions to be a Wali. To fulfill his ambitions he joined the courts of Sayf al-Dawla and Abu al-Misk Kafur but his ambitions failed. Al-Mutanabbi joined the court of Abu al-Misk Kafur after parting ways with Saif al Dawla, but Kafur dismissed Al-Mutanabbi's intentions claiming them to be a threat to his position. Al-Mutanabbi realized that his hopes of becoming a statesman were not going to be materialized and he left Egypt in c. 960. After he left, he heavily criticized Abu al-Misk Kafur with satirical odes.
Works Al-Mutanabbi (915 – 965) was an Arab poet. He is considered as one of the greatest poets in the Arabic language. He is considered one of the greatest, most prominent and most influential poets in the Arabic language, and much of his work has been translated into over 20 languages worldwide. Much of his poetry revolves around praising the kings he visited during his lifetime. Some consider his 326 poems to be a great representation of his life story. He started writing poetry when he was nine years old. He is well known for his sharp intelligence and wittiness. Al-Mutanabbi had a great pride in himself through his poetry. Among the topics he discussed were courage, the philosophy of life, and the description of battles. Many of his poems were and still are widely spread in today's Arab world and are considered to be proverbial.
The Lion poem When the lion bares his teeth, do not fancy that the lion shows to you a smile. I have slain the man that sought my heart’s blood many a time, Riding a noble mare whose back none else may climb, Whose hind and fore-legs seem in galloping as one, Nor hand nor foot requireth she to urge her on. And O the days when I have swung my fine-edged glaive Amidst a sea of death where wave was dashed on wave! The desert knows me well, the night, the mounted men The battle and the sword, the paper and the pen
ث ﺑﺎرِ زَ ًة ﻓَﻼ َﺗ ُظﻧّنّ أنّ اﻟ ّﻠﯾْثَ َﯾ ْﺑﺗَﺳِ ُم ِ إذا رَ أﯾْتَ ُﻧﯾُوبَ اﻟ ّﻠ ْﯾ َو ُﻣﮭْﺟَ ٍﺔ ُﻣﮭْﺟَ ﺗﻲ ﻣن َھ ّم ﺻَ ﺎﺣِﺑﮭﺎ أدرَ ﻛْ ُﺗﮭَﺎ ﺑﺟَ َوا ٍد ظَ ْﮭرُه ﺣَ رَ ُم ﻛض رِ ﺟل ٌ َواﻟﯾدا ِن َﯾ ٌد َوﻓِﻌْ ﻠُ ُﮫ ﻣَﺎ ﺗُرﯾ ُد اﻟﻛَفﱡ َواﻟﻘَدَ ُم ِ ّرِ ﺟﻼهُ ﻓﻲ اﻟر ت َﯾ ْﻠﺗَطِ ُم ِ ج اﻟﻣ َْو ُ ف ﺳرْ تُ ﺑﯾنَ اﻟﺟَ ﺣْ َﻔﻠَﯾ ِن ﺑ ِﮫ ﺣﺗﻰ ﺿرَ ﺑْتُ َوﻣ َْو ٍ َوﻣُرْ َھ اﻟﺧَ ْﯾل ُ َواﻟ ّﻠ ْﯾل ُ َواﻟ َﺑﯾْدا ُء ﺗَﻌرِ ﻓُﻧﻲ َواﻟﺳّ ﯾفُ َواﻟرّ ﻣ ُﺢ واﻟﻘرْ طﺎسُ َواﻟ َﻘ َﻠ ُم
Biography written by Petrea Ana-Maria & Nica Ioana Maria Colegiul National Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Galati, Romania
Biography Research Sources : Wikipedia, www.sunsings.org, www.vipfaq.com, www.nytimes.com, www.stepfeed.com
Nizar Qabbani “In the summer, I stretch out on the shore and think of you. Had I told the sea what I felt for you, it would have left its shores, its shells, its fish, and followed me.”
Early Life:
Nizar Qabbani was born on 21 March 1923 in the
Syrian capital of Damascus to a Syrian middle class merchant family of Turkish descent. The school where he studied was the national Scientific College School in Damascus what was owned and run by his father's friend, Ahmad Munif al-Aidi. While a student in college he wrote his first collection of poems entitled The Brunette Told Me. It was a collection of romantic verses that made several startling references to a woman's body, sending shock waves throughout the conservative society in Damascus.
Family Life: Qabbani had five siblings – two sisters Wasila& Haifa and three brothers – Rashid, Sabbah, &Mu’taz. Nizar Qabbani married twice in his life. His first wife was his cousin Zahra Aqbiq; together they had a daughter, Hadba, and a son, Tawfiq. Tawfiq His second marriage was to an Iraqi woman named Balqis al-Rawi. Together they had a son, Omar, and a daughter, Zainab. After the death of Balqis, Qabbani did not marry again.
Works Over the course of a half-century, Qabbani wrote 34 other books of poetry.
3 Interesting Facts: When Nizar Qabbani was 15 years old, his sister committed suicide when she was forced to marry someone she did not love. This left a great impression on his mind, and he decided to do something against the inferior status of women in his country. Qabbani began writing poetry when he was 16 years old
The city of Damascus remained a powerful muse in his poetry, most notably in the Jasmine Scent of Damascus.
Childhood of a Breast (1948) Samba (1949) You Are Mine (1950) Poems Against The Law (1972) Write the History of Woman Like So (1981) Love Shall Remain My Lord (1987) I Married You, Liberty! (1988) Fifty Years of Praising Women (1994) Alphabet of Jasmine (1998)
End of life: He left life as a Syrian diplomat to become one of the Arab world’s greatest poets, died on 30 April 1998 in London, where he lived, he was 75. The cause of his death was a heart attack, his family said.
Barada By Nizar Qabbani
Barada, oh father of all rivers Oh, horse that races the days Be, in our sad history, a prophet Who receives inspiration from his lord Millions acknowledge you as an Arab Prince . . . so pray as an imam Oh eyes of the gazelle in the desert of Sham Look down. This is the age of lavender They have detained you in the pavilions for a long time We have woven tents from tears God has witnessed that we have broken no promise Or secured protection for those we love
Biography written by Mathieu and Nassim
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Biography Research Sources: Wikipedia (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imrou%27l_Qays) 008SH Photo / portrait
Imrou'l Qays Early Life: was born in the VI century in Nedjd (Saudi Arabia) Family :Hujr al-Kindi Fatimah bint Rabi'ah alTaghlibi Imro Qays was the son of the last King of the Kinda . He had to run away after exacting his revenge for his father’s death
Works Legend has it that Imru' al-Qais was the youngest of his father's
Interesting Facts: Imru' al-Qais travelled all over the Arabian peninsula on his exile . He took refuge from different tribes, went to Constantinople and fell ill near Ankara. Imro Qays loved Drinking and women. He is sometimes considered the father of Arabic poetry.
sons, and began composing poetry while he was still a child.
First poem is “Sa qasida “ Most famous poem “On the sand imprint of our bodies” Name of poems in English “At the same time” and in ozudek “Sa qasida” End of life: He died in the middle of the 6th century . Imro Qays died of a skin disease He Died in Ancyre .
Badr Chakir Assayab (Morocco) Badr Shākir al-Sayyāb (1926–1964) is the unrivalled champion of the Arab Free Verse movement. One of the most wellknown poets of the twentieth century, he revolutionized modern Arab poetry with his experiments in form, language, and content. Sayyāb introduced political commitment (iltizām) as concept into his poetry, interweaving it with myths of martyrdom and self-sacrifice in search for a better society. Coupling political commitment with a new form, radically breaking with the traditional classical forms and tropes, Sayyāb succeeded in liberating Arab poetry from the restraints and restrictions of its literary conventions. Even though later on it turned out that Sayyāb’s Weltanschauung had been too naïve, he is the undisputed master of a new lyrical diction and sensitivity that paved the way for the following generations.
Song of the Rain Your eyes are two palm tree forests in early light, Or two balconies from which the moonlight recedes When they smile, your eyes, the vines put forth their eaves, And lights dance .. like moons in a river Rippled by the blade of an oar at break of day; As if stars were throbbing in the depths of them . . .
Evening yawned, from low clouds Heavy tears are streaming still. It is as if a child before sleep were rambling on About his mother (a year ago he went to wake her, did not find her; Then when he kept on asking, he was told: "After tomorrow, she’ll come back again" And they drown in a mist of sorrow translucent That she must come back again, Like the sea stroked by the hand of nightfall; The warmth of winter is in it, and the shudder of autumn, Yet his playmates whisper that she is there And death and birth, darkness and light; In the hillside, sleeping her death for ever, A sobbing flares up to tremble in my soul Eating the earth around her, drinking the rain; And a savage elation embracing the sky, As if a forlorn fisherman gathering nets Frenzy of a child frightened by the moon. Cursed the waters and fate It is as if archways of mist drank the clouds And scattered a song at moonset, And drop by drop dissolved in the rain … Drip, drop, the rain As if children snickered in the vineyard bowers, The song of the rain rippled the silence of birds in the trees Drip, drop, the rain Rain song Drop, Do you know what sorrow the rain can inspire? Drop, And how gutters weep when it pours down? Drop, Do you know how lost a solitary person feels in the rain? Endless,- like spilt blood, like hungry people, like love, like children, like the dead,Endless the rain. Your two eyes take me wandering with the rain, Lightning’s from across the Gulf sweep The shores of Iraq With stars and shells, As if a dawn were about to break from them But night pulls over them a coverlet of blood.
Song of the Rain I cry out to the Gulf: "O Gulf, Giver of pearls, shells and death!" And the echo replies, as if lamenting: "O Gulf: Giver of shells and death". I can almost hear Iraq husbanding the thunder, Storing lightning in the mountains and plains, So that if the seal were broken by men The winds would leave in the valley not a trace of Thamud. I can almost hear the palmtrees drinking the rain, Hear the villages moaning and emigrants With oar and sail fighting The Gulf winds of storm and thunder, singing Rain.. rain..rain (Drip, drop, the rain) And there is hunger in Iraq, The harvest time scatters the grain in-it, That crows and locusts may gobble their fill, Granaries and stones grind on and on, Mills turn in the fields, with humans turning Drip, drop, the rain Drip, Drop, Drop
How many tears we shed when came the night for leaving We made the rain an excuse, not wishing to be blamed Drip, drop, the rain Drip, drop, the rain Since we had been children, the sky Would be clouded in wintertime, And down would pour the rain, And every year when earth turned green the hunger struck us. Not a year has passed without hunger in Iraq. Rain Drip, drop, the rain Drip, drop In every drop of rain A red or yellow color buds from the seeds of flowers. Every tear wept by the hungry and naked people And every spilt drop of slaves’ blood Is a smile aimed at a new dawn, A nipple turning rosy in an infant’s lips In the young world of tomorrow, bringer of life. Drip..... Drop..... (the rain . . .In the rain) Iraq will blossom one day
Song of the Rain I cry out to the Gulf: "O Gulf: Giver of pearls, shells and death!" The echo replies as if lamenting: ’O Gulf: Giver of shells and death." And across the sands from among its lavish gifts The Gulf scatters fuming froth and shells And the skeletons of miserable drowned emigrants Who drank death forever From the depths of the Gulf, from the ground of its silence, And in Iraq a thousand serpents drink the nectar From a flower the Euphrates has nourished with dew. I hear the echo Ringing in the Gulf: Rain . . . Drip, drop, the rain . . . Drip, drop. In every drop of rain A red or yellow color buds from the seeds of flowers. Every tear wept by the hungry and naked people And every spilt drop of slaves’ blood Is a smile aimed at a new dawn, A nipple turning rosy in an infant’s lips In the young world of tomorrow, bringer of life. And still the rain pours down.
March Task : biography writing Creative Writing Around The World School –Year 2018/2019