Saadi Youssef
Encyclopedia
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
) is an Iraqi author, poet, journalist, publisher, and political activist. He has published thirty volumes of poetry and seven books of prose.
Life
Saadi Yousef studied Arabic literature in BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. He was influenced by the free verse
Free verse
Free verse is a form of poetry that refrains from consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern.Poets have explained that free verse, despite its freedom, is not free. Free Verse displays some elements of form...
of Badr Shakir al-Sayyab
Badr Shakir al-Sayyab
Badr Shakir al Sayyab is an Iraqi and Arab poet, born in Jekor, a town south of Basra in Iraq. The eldest child of a date grower and shepherd. He graduated from the Higher teachers training college of Baghdad in 1948...
, Shathel Taqa
Shathel Taqa
Shathel TAQA, Shathel TAQA, Shathel TAQA, (in Arabic: (شاذل طاقة (28) April 1929 – 20 October 1974), an Iraqi poet, diplomat and politician. He is one of the pioneer founders of the School of Modern Arabic Poetry, which emerged in Iraq in the late 1940s and early 1950s....
and Abd al-Wahhab Al-Bayyati
Abd al-Wahhab Al-Bayyati
Abd al-Wahhab Al-Bayati was an Iraqi poet. He was a pioneer in his field and defied conventional form of poetry that had been common for centuries.-Biography:...
and was also involved in politics from an early age, leaving the country permanently in 1979 after Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's rise to power. At the time his work was heavily influenced by his socialist and anti-imperialist sympathies but has since also taken a more introspective, lyrical turn. He has also translated many well-known writers into Arabic, including Oktay Rifat, Melih Cevdet Anday
Melih Cevdet Anday
Melih Cevdet Anday , Turkish poet and writer who has been one of the forefront poets of the Garip movement together with Orhan Veli and Oktay Rifat....
, Garcia Lorca, Yiannis Ritsos
Yiannis Ritsos
Yiannis Ritsos was a Greek poet and left-wing activist and an active member of the Greek Resistance during World War II.-Early life:...
, Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
and Constantine Cavafy. Since leaving Iraq, Yousef has lived in many countries, including Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and currently he resides in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
In 2004, the Al Owais Prize
Al Owais Prize
The Al Owais Prize is a bi-annual prize for artistic and cultural achievement in the Arab world. It is administered by the Sultan Bin Al Owais Cultural Foundation of the UAE. The award was established by the Emirati prince Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais...
for poetry was given to Yousef but was controversially withdrawn after he criticized UAE ruler Sheikh Zayed bin al-Nahiyan. In 2007 Yousef participated in the PEN World Voices
PEN World Voices
PEN World Voices: The New York Festival of International Literature was launched in 2005. PEN World Voices is a week-long literary festival in New York City. The Festival was founded by Esther Allen and Michael Roberts under then PEN President Salman Rushdie. The Festival was composed of programs,...
festival where he was interviewed by the Wild River Review
Wild River Review
Wild River Review is an online magazine that publishes in-depth reporting, works of literature, art, visual art, reviews, interviews, and columns by and about contemporary artists, photographers, and writers. Founded in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the magazine has been operating since 2006 under...
.
Further reading
- Huri, Yair (2006) The Poetry of Sa’di Yûsuf: Between Homeland and Exile (Sussex) ISBN 9781845191481
External links
- Listen to Saadi Yousef reading his poetry - a British Library recording, 04 March 2009.
- 3 poems
- 3 poems
- Two poems
- The Fence a poem
- Spiral of Iraqi memory review of Without an Alphabet at Al-AhramAl-AhramAl-Ahram , founded in 1875, is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper, and the second oldest after al-Waqa'i`al-Masriya . It is majority owned by the Egyptian government....
- Iraqi poet Saadi Youssef on 'bullet censorship' at Socialist WorkerSocialist WorkerSocialist Worker is the name of several socialist/communist newspapers associated with the International Socialist Tendency...