May Murr or Mayy Murr (1929-2008) was a Lebanese historian, writer, poet, and political activist.

She founded and presided, many cultural and social associations. She was a member of the Société des Gens de Lettres de France and of the Société Teilhard de Chardin, headquartered in Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. She was also the President of the Academy of Lebanese Thought and was a founding member of the political party the Guardians of the Cedars

Guardians of the Cedars

The Guardians of the Cedars – GoC , also designated Gardiens du Cedre or Gardiens des Cèdres in French, are a far-right ultranationalist Lebanese party and former militia in Lebanon...

.

She taught different subjects at several universities and institutions such as the Lebanese University

Lebanese University

The Lebanese University is the only public institution for higher learning in Lebanon. Founded in 1951, it has 17 faculties as of 2006 and serves various cultural, religious, and social groups of students and teachers....

 and the Lebanese Military School, in which she taught mathematics, literature, history, history of art and geography. She was also the sister of MP Michel Murr

Michel Murr

Michel Murr is a Lebanese politician and businessman. He first occupied the post of Minister of the Interior, as well as being Deputy Prime Minister in Rafik Hariri's first cabinet in 1992 and remained in the post in all subsequent cabinets formed by Hariri, except the last one, in which his son,...

.

She figures among the poetesses in the Anthologie de la Poésie Féminine Mondiale. Many international critics have praised her poetry. Jean Cayrol

Jean Cayrol

Jean Cayrol was a French poet, publisher, and member of the Académie Goncourt. He is perhaps best known for writing the narration in Alain Resnais's 1955 documentary film, Night and Fog...

 wrote to her: 'May Murr, you are filled with poetry to infinity'. Said Akl

Said Akl

Said Akl is a Lebanese poet, writer, and playwright. He is considered one of the most important modern Lebanese poets. He is also a staunch advocate of Lebanese identity and nationalism and the Lebanese language, designing a Latin-based Lebanese alphabet made up of 37 letters.-Early life:Akl was...

 wrote, in 1967, an article entitled 'A woman invades the conscience of Lebanon':

Honorary Distinctions

• Le Prix des Gens de Lettres de France (1968).
• Le Prix de la Rose des Poètes, Paris (1969).
• The Saïd Akl Prize, 1970.
• The Fakr Eddine Prize, awarded by General Aziz Ahdab for her unique and incomparable historical discoveries that upset the concepts of history (1974).

Publications

May Murr has written more than 3,000 articles on several subjects (theology, philosophy, politics, literature, arts, history, geography, social problems...) with an emphasis on the problems of the family, womanhood and childhood, in most of the major Lebanese newspapers and magazines, in three languages: Lebanese, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 and Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

.

She was the editor-in-chief of the weekly Lebnan since its creation in 1975 until 1982. She published in this weekly political articles, poems and extracts from Lubnaniyada, her epic poem in Lebanese Arabic

Lebanese Arabic

Lebanese or Lebanese Arabic is a variety of Levantine Arabic, indigenous to and spoken primarily in Lebanon, with significant linguistic influences borrowed from other Middle Eastern and European languages, and is in some ways unique from other varieties of Arabic...

(of some 30,000 verses) and historical essays which allowed her to call the history of Lebanon-Phoenicia the Giant of Histories, and to entitle her works on the history of Lebanon in 12 volumes (still manuscript) Lebanon-Phoenicia, Land of God.

In Lebanese

• Elissa: a historical drama in verse, considered as a summit in this field. Beirut, 1968.
• I love You: Love poems (in neo-Lebanese characters) Editions St Paul, 1978.
• Various publications in prose and poetry in the press.

In French

• Pourquoi les Roses? Love poems (in both classical and free verses), Paris, Grassin, 1967.
• Penchent Leur Tête les Epis: Poems (in both classical and free verses), Paris, Grassin, 1969. Paris, Grassin, 1967.
• Il S'agit d'un Rien d'Amour: Prayers (in free verse), Paris, Grassin, 1970.
• Quatrains: Poems (in classical verse), Paris, Grassin — Jounieh, St Paul, 1971.
• Kamal or the Story of a Hero: Poetry and prose, with a prayer in verse as an introduction. Beirut, Ishtar, 1987.
• Poésie Trismégiste: Spiritual Poems (in classical verse), Etablissements Khalifé pour l'Impression, Beirut, 1994.

In Arabic

• The Most Beautiful Tales of Lebanon-Phoenicia. Beirut.
• The Magic Birdie.
• The Time Vessel.
• Lebanon and Phoenicia.
• Thor and Maya.
• The Emerald Temple.
• I Shall Give Your Name to Tyre.
• The One Who Restored the Empire of the World to the Phoenicians.
• Tripoli, I prefer you to myself.
• He Meant Us for Love.
• Elissa, Founder of the Queen of Our Emporia's.
• Sidon Returns from Death.
• Euclid of Tyre, Organizer of the Mind.

May Murr has also published in the press three collections of Arabic classical poems:

• My God, I love You.
• Lebanon also I love.
• A Kiss for You.

Unpublished works

Many manuscripts written in collaboration with her husband, Alfred Murr, await publication:

• Jesus. An epic poem in Lebanese of some 15,000 verses.
• The First Love Letter, or Thor and Maya. A historical novel
• Cadmus of Tyre. The Universal Master. A historical novel.
• He Meant Us for Love, or Adoniram, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. A historical novel.
• Euclid of Tyre, Organizer of the Mind. A historical novel in Arabic.
• Several novels, plays (including Marina), and nine books of poetry.