Alawi al-Hashimi

Alawi bin Hashem bin Hussein bin Hashem Al-Hashemi was born in the Fareej el-Makharqa neighborhood of Manama in 1948 and grew up in a large Hasina family, descended from the Banu Hashim tribe. His father was a modest merchant, but his mother was a Hasina from the family of Syed Salman Al Sharaf; thus, he was given the name “Alawi,” since his Hasina relatives are said to have been descended from the prophet Ali.[5] He enrolled at the Eastern School (Al Sharqiyah) in 1954, then transferred to the Western School (Al Raja School) in 1956, from which he graduated with the tawjihi certificate in 1965. He continued his studies by earning a 1968 Diploma in Commerce from the University of London, a 1972 B.A. in Arabic from Beirut Arab University, a 1978 M.A. in Arabic literature from Cairo University, and a 1986 Ph.D. in Arabic literature from Tunis University.

He worked several short-lived business jobs, but became better-known for his work with the Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation as a translator, programmer, broadcaster, and coordinator of hadith readings. In 1978, he began teaching as an assistant professor at the College of Arts of the University of Bahrain. He entered journalism as editor of the culture section of Gulf News and Akhbar Al Khaleej as well as the literary section of Bahrain Magazine. He also has served as founding treasurer of the Bahrain Writers’ Association and as president it for several terms.[2]

Al-Hashimi has appeared at many literary conferences and poetry festivals. He belongs to a generation of poets emerging in the early 1960s, who contributed to revitalizing, developing, and defining the modern Bahraini literary scene.[2]