Fadhil Al Azzawi

Fadhil Al Azzawi (Arabic: فاضل العزاوي ; born 1940 in Kirkuk, Iraq) is an Iraqi writer highly respected in the Arab world,[1] as he has published ten volumes of poetry, six novels, three books of criticism and memoir, and several translations of German literary works. He participated in Iraq's avant-garde Sixties Generation, and his early controversial work was lauded with great enthusiasm.

Fadhil Al Azzawi
Native name
فاضل العزاوي
Born1940
Kirkuk, Iraq
Occupationpoet, writer, translator and journalist
NationalityIraqi
EducationBA (English Literature), Baghdad University, PhD (Leipzig University)

Life and career

Fadhil Al Azzawi was born in Kirkuk in 1940. As a young boy, he was fascinated by the sound and rhythm of the Qu'ran and noticed that poetry was evident in Iraqi folklore such as the tales of the Arabian Knights. In the post war period, when contemporary poetry filtered into Iraq, Al Azzaawi quickly acquainted himself with its forms.[2]

He holds a BA in English Literature from Baghdad University.[3]

He edited a number of magazines in Iraq, and founded the poetry magazine Shi’r 69,[4] which was subsequently banned. He spent three years in jail under the dictatorship of the Ba`th regime.[5]

As the Baathist-controlled regime became increasingly powerful, Fadhil decided to leave Iraq in 1976 for political reasons. He later earned a doctorate in communications studies from Leipzig University. He has worked as a freelance journalist and translator for Arab newspapers and cultural reviews.

He currently resides in Berlin, where he works as a full-time writer.

Works

He has published nine volumes of poetry in Arabic and one in German. He also contributes articles and poetry to magazines, newspapers and journals and regularly writes for Words Without Borders. His works have been translated into European and Eastern languages, including English, German, French, Swedish, Spanish, Norwegian, Hungarian, Turkish, Hebrew, and Persian. His poetry is also included in anthologies such as Fifteen Iraqi Poets. [6]

  • Miracle Maker, Selected Poems. BOA Editions. 2004. ISBN 978-1-929918-45-4.
  • In Every Well a Joseph Is Weeping, Quarterly Review of Books, 1997
  • "Cell Block Five" (2008, The American University in Cairo Press)
  • The Last of the Angels (2007, The American University in Cairo Press).
  • The Traveler and the Innkeeper (2011,The American University in Cairo Press).

See also

References
  1. "Fadhil Al-Azzawi author bio". Archived from the original on 2007-09-01. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
  2. "Fadhil al-Azzawi" [Biographical Notes], Poetry International, Online:
  3. Banipal 2008
  4. "PEN American Center - Fadhil al-Azzawi". Archived from the original on 2007-09-08. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
  5. "Fadhil al-Azzawi" [Biographical notes on contributors], Words without Borders, Online:
  6. Mikhail, D., Fifteen Iraqi Poets, The Poetry Foundation, 2013, pp 37-50
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