Adonis
Considered the greatest living Arab poet, Adonis—the pen name of Ali
Ahmed Saïd Esber—was born in 1930 in Al Qassabin, Syria. Adonis’ work
has aroused much controversy in the Arab world, both for its
provocative content and arresting style. Through his innovative use of
language, imagery and narrative technique, Adonis has played a leading
role in the revolutionizing of Arab literature.
Adonis’ father taught him poetry, as a path away from the village.
In 1947, after an improvised meeting with the Syrian president—whom he
impressed with his poems—Adonis received a grant to study at the Syrian
University in Damascus, where he graduated with a degree in philosophy.
In 1955, he was jailed for six months for membership in the Social
Nationalist Party, a pan-Syrian organization. After his release, he
settled in Beirut, obtaining Lebanese citizenship in 1962. After the
Lebanese Civil War in 1982, he fled to Paris, becoming a French
citizen—teaching Arabic literature at the Sorbonne and representing the
Arab League at UNESCO.
Adonis’ has always sought to secularize the Arab world—to ...
