Abdul-Wahab Al-Bayati
عبد الوهاب البياتي
Al-Bayati, 1999
BornDecember 19, 1926
Baghdad, Iraq
DiedAugust 3, 1999(1999-08-03) (aged 72)
Damascus, Syria
OccupationPoet

Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayati (December 19, 1926 – August 3, 1999) was an Iraqi Arab poet.

Biography

al-Bayati was born in Baghdad. One of his friends, Ahmed Abdel-Moeti Hegazi, said urban centers of "hotels and institutions, cafés and airports" were actually his temporary residences.[1] He attended Baghdad University, and became a teacher after graduating from Dar Al-Mu'allimin (the Teacher's College) in 1950, the same year that he released his first collection of poems, Mala'ika wa Shayatin (Angels and Devils).

Sufis

Al-Bayati was influenced by the Middle Eastern Sufi figures. One example is a poem by Al-Bayati entitled "A’isha's Mad Lover" in his book, Love Poems on the Seven Gates of the World (1971): "In this context Al-Bayati’s poetry becomes Sufi in default, since he assumes the position as a modernist whose aspirations for an earthy paradise have not materialized."[2]

Works

Original volumes

  • Mala'ika wa shayatin (Angels and Devils), 1950
  • Abariq muhashshama, 1954
  • Risala ila Hazim Hikmet wa quas'aid ukhra, 1956
  • Al-Majd li al-atfal wa al-zaytun, 1956
  • Ash'ar fi al-manfa, 1957
  • Ishrun qasida min Berlin, 1959
  • Kalimat la tamut, 1960
  • Muhakama fi Nisabur, 1963
  • Al-Nar wa al-kalimat, 1964
  • Sifr al-faqr wa al-thawra, 1965
  • Alladhi ya'ti wa laya'ti, 1966
  • Al Mawt fi al Hayat, 1968
  • Tajribati al-shi'riyya, 1968
  • 'Ulyun al-kilab al-mayyita, 1969
  • Buka'iyya ila shams haziran wa al-murtaziqa, 1969
  • Al Kitaba al Teen, 1970
  • Yawmiyyat siyasi muhtarif, 1970
  • Qasaid hubb 'ala bawwabat al-'alam al-sab, 1971
  • Sira dhatiyya li sariq al-nar, 1974
  • Kitab al-bahr, 1974
  • Qamar Shiraz, 1976
  • Mamlakat al-sunbula, 1979
  • Sawt al-sanawat al-daw'iyya, 1979
  • Bustan 'A'isha, 1989
  • Al-Bahr Ba'id, Asma'uh Yatanahhud (The Sea is Distant, I Hear It Sighing), 1998

Translated volumes

  • Lilies and Death, 1972 (trans. Mohammed B. Alwan)
  • The Singer and the Moon, 1976 (trans. Abdullah al-Udhari)
  • Eye of the Sun, 1978
  • Love Under Rain (Al-hubb tahta al-matar), 1985 (transl. Desmond Stewart and George Masri)
  • Love, Death, and Exile, 1990 (trans. Bassam K. Frangieh)

Anthologies with only works by Abd al-Wahhab Al-Bayati

  • Poet of Iraq: Abdul Wahab al-Bayati. An introductory essay with translations by Desmond Stewart, 1976
  • Abdul Wahab al-Bayati, 1979 (a short introduction and four poems, trans. Desmond Stewart and George Masri)

Anthologies with works by Abd al-Wahhab Al-Bayati and other poets

  • Abdullah al-Udhari, ed. and trans. Modern Poetry of the Arab World. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin, 1986.
    • An Apology for a Short Speech
    • The Arab Refugee
    • The Fugitive
    • Hamlet
    • Profile of the Lover of the Great Bear
    • To Ernest Hemingway
  • Salma Khadra Jayyusi, ed. Modern Arabic Poetry: An Anthology. New York: Columbia University Press, 1987
    • The Birth of Aisha and Her Death
    • Eligy for Aisha
    • The Impossible
    • Luzumiyya
  • Simawe, Saadi ed. Iraqi Poetry Today, ISBN 0-9533824-6-X London: King's College, London, 2003
    • The Dragon
    • An Elegy to Aisha
    • I am Born and I Burn in My Love
    • Love Under The Rain
    • The Nightmare
    • Nine Ruba'iyat
    • Shiraz Moon
    • Three Ruba'iyat
    • To Naguib Mahfouz [Amman, 15 April 1997]
    • To TS Eliot
    • Transformations of Aisha: Aisha's Birth and Death in the Magical Rituals Inscribed in Cuneiform on the Nineveh Tablets
    • Two Poems for my son, Ali
    • Who Owns the Homeland?
  • Writing on Aisha's Tomb

See also

Further reading

  • Azouqa, Aida. "Defamiliarization in the Poetry of ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayati and T.S. Eliot: a comparative study." Journal of Arabic Literature 32.2 (2001): 167–211.
  • Boullata, Issa J. "The Masks of ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayyati." Journal of Arabic Literature 32.2 (2001): 107–118.
  • Kadhim, Hussein N. "‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Wahhab al-Bayyati’s ‘Odes to Jaffa’." Journal of Arabic Literature 32.2 (2001): 86–106.
  • Musawi, Muhsin Jasim. "Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayati’s Poetics of Exile." Journal of Arabic Literature 32.2 (2001): 212–238
  • Musawi, Muhsin Jasim. "Engaging Tradition in Modern Arab Poetics." Journal of Arabic literature 33.2 (2002): 172–210.
  • Noorani, Yaseen "Visual Modernism in the Poetry of ‘Abd al-al-Wahhab al-Bayati." Journal of Arabic Literature 32.3 (2001): 239–255.
  • Rizk, Kahali Shukrallah. The Poetry of ‘Abd Al-Wahhab Al-Bayyati: thematic and stylistic study, Dissertation (Ph. D), Indiana University: 1981.
  • Salama, Mohammad R. "The Mise-en-Scene of ‘Writintg’ in al-Bayati's Al-Kitabah ‘ala al-tin ‘Writing on the Mud’." Journal of Arabic Literature 32.2 (2001): 167–211.
  • Stetkevych, Suzanne Pinckney. "Perhaps a Poet is Born, or Dies: the poetics of ‘Abd al—Wahhab al- Bayyati." Journal of Arabic Literature 32.2 (2001): 88–238.
  • Stewart, Desmond, editor and translator. Poet of Iraq, Abdul Wahab al-Bayati, an introductory essay with translations. Gazelle Publication: 1976.

Notes

  1. ↑ Hegazi, Agmed Abdel-Moeti. "Points of Reference Archived March 17, 2005, at the Wayback Machine." Al-Ahram Weekly Online Issue No. 442 (12–18 August 1999). Retrieved on 4 May 2005
  2. ↑ Al-Musawi, M. (2009). Islam on the Street: Religion in Modern Arabic Literature. Toronto: Bowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., p. 211.

References

  • Ryding, Karin C. - "A Reference Grammar of Modern Standard Arabic", Page 88, Section 5, "Nouns of intensity, repetition, profession", Cambridge University Press, © Karin C. Ryding 2005
  • Author Unknown. "1958: Coup in Iraq Sparks Jitters in the Middle East" BBC 14 July 1958. Accessed 1 May 2005.

This site is an archived BBC article on the military coup d'état in 1958 that allowed al-Bayyati to briefly return to Iraq.

The author interviews al-Bayyati, who discusses with great feeling his ideas on the craft of writing, on religion, on women and on the politics that have shaped his life. This interview offers a charming glimpse of al-Bayatti's character, wit and personality. An extended obituary for al-Bayyati is also included at the bottom of the page.

A short poem and drawing in memory of al-Bayyati by celebrated Egyptian artist and cartoonist George Bahgory.

This article examines work by modern Arabic poets in terms of historical and political events. It includes al-Bayyati's "Elegy to Aisha" with commentary.

Ahmed Abdel-Moeti Hegazi remembers al-Bayyati. This is an in-depth look at the poet from the perspective of a friend who had been acquainted with him for many years. It offers a fresh and enthralling view of al-Bayyati, and is by far the most personal article we have come across. This is the only example we have found of someone writing about al-Bayatti the man rather than al-Bayatii the poet. The site also includes a biography.

The text of this site, which appears in a few other locations on the web, includes a brief biographical overview of the author and a list of selected works. It discusses al-Bayyati's poetry in the context of his life, giving examples of poems influenced both by his politics, his separation from his homeland and his later Sufist influence.

Eric Ormsby eloquently describes seeing al-Bayyati read his poetry at a conference of Near Eastern poets, and reviews the book Iraqi Poetry Today. His review also offers an abridged historical commentary on the work of several poets included in the book.

A BBC special in honor of Remembrance Sunday, BBC World services correspondent Lawrence Pollard examines the ways that war inspires poets and writers the world over. The sit includes an extract from "Lament for the June Sun" by al-Bayyati with commentary.

An overview of al-Bayyati's life and poetry, written following his death. Unfortunately, membership to the site must be obtained to access the full text.

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