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 eliminate alienation caused by political Islam and ideology—but currently sees the Arabs as “a people that is becoming extinct”.

Adonis’ extensive work includes: If Only the Sea Could Sleep, The Pages of Day and Night, Mihyar of Damascus: His Songs, An Introduction to Arab Poetics, and Sufism and Surrealism.

Adonis resides in Paris and Beruit.