Nazik Al-Malaika
A Tribute page
This page is dedicated to Nazik Al Malaika, the most famous and interesting
of Arabic female poets of the 20th century. You will find here samples
of her poetry, short stories, and social commentary.
Nazik Sadiq Al-Malaika was born in Bagdad , Iraq, at
the 23rd of August, 1923. She spent her early years with her family and
was influenced from early on by another Iraqi poetess, her Mother, Um Nizar
Al Malaika. Her father was a language teacher. She studied in Iraq, and
then won a scholarship which permitted her to study at Princeton, (she
was actually the first female to study at this prestigious school, in 1952)...
and later, at Madison, Wisconsin.
She did lose her religious faith during her stay
in the States, and describes her spiritual, and intellectual, growth, and
life experiences, in the essay entitled " About
My Life and Education .
She was ardently opposed to communism, and, after
coming home from the states, her life was threatened during the communist
era in Iraq. She fled to Lebanon during those violent years.
During the 50's, 60's, and 70's, she published a
number of important and influential works in the fields of Literature and
literary criticism.
Today she leads a secluded life in Cairo, Egypt.
She is known most for being one of the earliest
creators and advocates of what is known in the Arabic World as Modern
Free poetry.
Some of her poems translated to English are available
here.
A different collection of poems is available
here .
Nazik was interested in the situation of Women. One
of her earliest and best essays , "Women
between the extremes of : Passivity and Ethical choice." deals with
what is called today "The repression of femininity in Patriarchal society."
The thesis is that Arabic women are not permitted to become ethical beings,
since an ethical stance persupposes a certain amount of intellelectual
and material freedom, the ability to make decisions for one self, make
money, have an education, and choose one's husband and life style. The
essay is certainly a feminist classic which fits today's Arabic world as
much as it was relevant to the world of the 1954 when it first appeared.
The Beautiful Poem " Lament
of a Worthless Woman might well represent her views on this subject.
Nazik is also a famous short story writer. Typically,
her stories depict a rich world of feminine experience and relationships
seldom noticed by other Arabic authors. The stories however depict Universal
human themes and emotions, such as the experience of alienation,
and the difficulty of the encounter and reconciliation with the self and
Others.
One of her earliest Stories, Jasmine
, describes a woman's effort to establish a friendship with her young niece.
Another story, The
sun beyond the Mountain top , describes an Arabic Woman's emotions
and thoughts while she is giving birth.
Some Links:
Information about Famous lebanese
Author, Gibran Khalel Gibran is available at Lebanon
Net .
Biographical information about the lives of Palestenian
Poets is available at Barghouti.
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