Syria has always been one of Arabic poetry's centers of innovation and has a proud tradition of oral and written poetry. Contemporary Syrian literature also encompasses science fiction and futuristic utopiae ( Nuhad Sharif, Talib Umran), which may also serve as media of dissent. Salim Barakat, a Syrian émigré living in Sweden, is one of the leading figures of the genre.
Syrian folk narrative, as a subgenre of historical fiction, is imbued with magical realism, and is also used as a means of veiled criticism of the present. The historical novel genre, which was made popular by Nabil Sulayman, Fawwaz Haddad, Khyri al-Dhahabi and Nihad Siris, is sometimes used as a means of critiquing the present through a depiction of the past. Following the Six-Day War in 1967, Adab al-Naksa, the "literature of defeat", grappled with the causes of the Arab defeat. Hanna Mina, rejecting art for art's sake and confronting the social and political issues of his time, was arguably the most prominent Syrian novelist of this era. Adab al-Iltizam, the "literature of political commitment", deeply marked by social realism, mostly replaced the romantic trend of the previous decades. In 1948, the partitioning of neighbouring Palestine and the establishment of Israel brought about a new turning point in Syrian writing. Prominent contemporary Syrian writers include, among others, Adonis, Muhammad Maghout, Haidar Haidar, Ghada al-Samman, Nizar Qabbani and Zakariyya Tamer. Syrians have contributed to Arabic literature for centuries, and Syrian writers played a crucial role in the nahda or Arab literary and cultural revival of the 19th century.
Nizar Qabbani's style explored themes of love, eroticism, religion, and Arab nationalism. Cicero was a pupil of Antiochus of Ascalon at Athens and the writings of Posidonius of Apamea influenced Livy and Plutarch. Later Syrian scholars and artists contributed to Hellenistic and Roman thought and culture. Īrchaeologists have discovered extensive writings and evidence of a culture rivaling those of Iraq, and Egypt in and around the ancient city of Ebla (modern Tell Mardikh). The alphabet was written in the familiar order we use today like the English language, however with different characters. The scribes of the city of Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra) created a cuneiform alphabet in the 14th century BC. Marriage ceremonies are occasions for the lively demonstration of folk customs. The Syrian's taste for the traditional arts is expressed in dances such as the al-Samah, the Dabkeh in all their variations and the sword dance. Importance is placed on family, religion, education and self-discipline and respect. Syria is a traditional society with a long cultural history. Syria's long and rich history plays a huge part in its culture. His recent poems are a bitter portrayal of what he saw as a decaying and divided Arab nation, led by dictators and forced to make a shameful peace with its enemies.The Roman Theatre at Bosra, one of Syria's best preserved monuments from Roman times. He was an ardent nationalist who used powerful imagery to express Arab collective feelings of outrage and humiliation at key historical moments such as the 1967 defeat by Israel. "Sir, I am afraid to say what's inside me/ I am afraid, if I do/ The sky would burn/ For your orient, my dear sir,/ Encircles a woman with spears/ And your orient, my dear sir,/ Makes prophets out of men/ But smothers women under the dust."īut Mr Qabbani's fame was not only based on his love poetry. Sex was often the underlying theme, and many of his poems were intended to convey the voice of an Arab woman stifling in a restrictive male-dominated society.
Often referred to as the poet of love and women, his highly-sensual poems pushed the boundaries of what was considered appropriate in Arabic literature. Mr Qabbani started out in the Syrian diplomatic service before taking up poetry as a career and moving to Beirut in the 1960s. His love poems have been turned into immensely-popular songs performed by some of the most famous singers of the region. One of our Middle East writers, Heba Saleh, takes this look at his work:Įven those in the Arab world who have never read a word of Nizar Qabbani's poetry will still be familiar with his work. The Syrian leader, Hafez al-Assad, has sent a plane to London to bring his body home for burial. Mr Qabbani also wrote highly-charged political poetry which mocked dictatorship and lamented Arab defeats at the hands of Israel. He was known throughout the Arab world for his love poems which often focussed on the feelings of Arab women living in male-dominated societies. Mr Qabbani, who was 75, became popular in the fifties after he published a volume of love poetry. One of the most prominent literary figures in the Arab world, the Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani has died in London.