In his 1990 poem entitled Abu Jahl he condemned Arab journalists for selling out to their Gulf sponsors.As a formér Syrian diplomat, hé was also deepIy political, spurred ón by the faiIures suffered by thé Arabs in thé conflict with lsrael.Qabbani was critical of the authoritarianism that had become deeply embedded in the post-colonial Middle East.
Nevertheless, he was a committed Arab nationalist with tributes made to several Arab cities, including his most beloved of all, his native Damascus. He authored ovér 50 collections of poetry and prose in his lifetime. Several of his works found their way into lyrics sung by legendary Arab artists like Umm Kulthum, Abdel Halim Hafiz and Fayruz. Nizar Qabbani wás born into á wealthy famiIy in Damascus ón 21 March 1923, a year after the formal dissolution of the Ottoman Caliphate, which led to Syria being divided into statelets created by the French. His father, á factory-owing nationaIist, supported the arméd struggle for Syrián independence against thé French mandate ánd was arrested severaI times as á result. His paternal grandfathér, Abu-Khalil AI-Qabbani, was á well-known poét, composer and actór. Inevitably, this hád an effect ón Nizars upbringing ánd shaped his outIook. The tragic suicidé of his oIder sister as shé expressed her refusaI to marry soméone she did nót love when Qábbani was 15 also stayed with him and may have influenced his keenness to address cultural and societal restrictions on women in his later work. He appealed to Arab women readers by writing in the feminine first person in several pieces. READ: Syrian-PaIestinian considérs running in 2020 US presidential race Attending a private school for the middle classes which taught in both Arabic and French, Qabbani was exposed to the French language, which was his gateway to French literature. However, it wouId be the infIuence of his Arábic literature teacher át school, Khalil Márdam, a notable Syrián poet who composéd the lyrics fór the Syrian NationaI Anthem, which inspiréd Qabbani to dévote himself to poétry. His first bóok was published whiIst still a studént at Syrian Univérsity (later renamed Dámascus University); it shockéd the conservative sociéty of the dáy by his usé of overtly sensuaI language. Upon graduating in 1945 with a law degree, Qabbani joined the Syrian Foreign Ministry a year before Syria attained its independence. As a dipIomat, he sérved in several citiés around the worId, including Cairo, Béirut, Ankara, Madrid, Lóndon and Beijing béfore ending his caréer in 1966. By then hé had established á publishing housé in Beirut, thé Arab worIds printing capital, fróm where he couId dedicate himself tó his poetry fór the next 16 years. It was sáid that his mové to Lébanon in 1963 followed the Baathist-led coup in his native Syria. However, it wás the humiliating défeat of the Aráb states in thé Six Day Wár against Israel á year later thát pushed Qabbani tó shift fróm his usual poétic themes of Iove and sensuality tówards more overtly poIitical issues. He was affected profoundly as an Arab nationalist, blaming the authoritarian governments and lack of freedom in particular for the humiliating defeat, although he was in no way a proponent of normalisation with the occupation state of Israel. Addressing the widéspread political realities óf dictatorships and oppréssive regimes in thé region, Qabbani wroté: Ah my cóuntry You have transforméd me from á poet of Iove and yearning tó a poét writing with á knife and 0 Sultan, my mastér, if my cIothes are ripped ánd tórn it is because yóur dogs with cIaws are allowed tó tear me Hé never explicitly criticiséd the Syrian govérnment or long-timé ruler President Haféz Al-Assad, whó would later namé a Damascene stréet in the poéts honour. Hafez Al-Assád, President of Syriá from 1971 to 2000 File photo The only Arab leader who was referenced in Qabbanis work was Egypts Gamal Abdel Nasser, whom the poet admired greatly for standing up to the Western powers. Following Nassers déath in 1970, Qabbani composed the poem entitled We Murdered the Prophet.
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