Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Ahmed Hussein Igbariya (1939 - August 23, 2017) was a Palestinian poet and novelist who is the younger brother of the poet of the resistance Rashid Hussein. Ahmed Hussein presented one short story collection published in 1979, and several books on children's literature, but most of his books were in the field of poetry, so he presented several collections of poetry. His literary output was not only political, but he also wrote emotional and flirtatious poetry. He was described in the "Encyclopedia of Arab Poets" as the author of renewed poetry with a sharp national and emotional tone.
its upbringing
He was born and studied primary in Haifa, then his family moved after the Nakba to the village of Musmus, and he finished his secondary school in the secondary school in the municipality of Nazareth, then he joined Bar Ilan Religious University, and he studied theology majoring in religious philosophy. Ahmed Hussein continued his university studies for three years in education and psychology and worked as a teacher between 1960 and 1990.
In an interview with him, he talked about his childhood and the impact of the Nakba on his writing: “The scenes of the Palestinian Nakba crushed my childhood. When the sadness and anger within me turned into awareness, after overcoming the stage of astonishment and confusion of the situation, I did not see in writing alone, in all its forms, the equivalent of the enormity of the Nakba and the severity of the commitment it required. My constant concern was the refusal to deal with the dictates of the raiding phase, except for those that fall under coercion and compulsion.”
His career and criticism
He began writing early in his studies, and worked as a teacher for 29 years, and retired in the eighties of the last century. He began writing and publishing in the late fifties, that is, during his studies at the secondary stage, and published his poetry and short stories in Al-Fajr magazine, which was edited by his brother, the poet Rashid Hussein, and Ahmed Hussein wrote in Al-Jadeed magazine in the seventies, under the pseudonym Ahmed Nazim. He also worked as an editor for Al-Mersad and Al-Musawwar magazines.
Ahmed Hussein slowed down in publishing his first poetic work, “The Time of Fear,” which was published in 1977, after which poetic works followed, in addition to a collection of short stories called “The Face and the Bottom,” which was published in 1979.
One of the most recurring themes in Ahmad Hussein's poetry was his city Haifa, which represented to him "the world, meaning life, meaning being, meaning beauty, truth, and justice, and without it: there is no world, no freedom, no justice...and no real life." Haifa is strongly present, especially in his book "Reading in the Execution Square", and he says:
I will give you pure poetry from my lips, as the wine of our vine and the color of our evening
If you had tasted my sorrows, you would understand my poem and know my distraction from your bed with semen
The birds of nostalgia landed at a distance where neither you, nor Galilee, nor I
And the heart is behind the eye, except that it is the master of our yearning and the path of our passion.
The earth is homelands, and you are a ship in their sea, and a dove is in our land.
You come close and far away, you see nothing but our sorrows, and you will land in our sorrows
In an article in Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, the writer argued that Ahmed Hussein “remained in the shadows for many years despite his important literary production,” and noted the clear link between his national and humanitarian positions and his literary production, which was also distinguished by its realism and expression of political events on the one hand and the daily on the other. Sami Idris says, in an article titled “Ahmed Hussein, Lover of Haifa”: “You think the poet writes a purely sensual lyrical poetry while addressing the beloved, similar to Ibn al-Farid, who writes Sufi poetry and not human flirtation. As for our poet Ahmed Hussein, in his appeal and speech, he addresses the national self that is hidden in him and tormenting him. He sends the sweetest poetry of music, content, and madness, and in that he reaches the heights of creativity, tearing himself into us, stroking it without relentless or mercy. Nimr Saadi described Ahmed Hussein's poetic experience as "one of the most important experiences of Palestinian poetry, if not (after Darwish's experience) the most important and strongest aesthetically and poetically at all."
Ahmed Hussein was an Arab nationalist, who believed that “the nation’s renaissance will come with the struggle of millions of Arabs from the ocean to the Gulf.”
his death
He died on August 23, 2017 in his hometown of Musmus and was buried in its cemetery. He was mourned by the General Union of Palestinian Writers and Writers, and the Palestinian Ministry of Culture.
his works
Time of Fear, Sons of the Country, Jerusalem (1977) - Poetry
Hymn to the Waiting Lord, The Walls, Acre (1978) - poetry
The Face and the Back, The Voice, Nazareth (1979) - a collection of short stories
Anat or Exodus from the Hijri Time, The Voice, Nazareth (1983) - Poetry
Sadly, I rejoice again, Al-Mashreq / Al-Amel Center for Cultural and Development Studies, Ramallah (2002) - a collection of poetry
A Letter of Rejection: Essays on the Stage and the Arab Man, Nazareth, 2003.
Readings in the execution yard, Everything Library, Haifa (2004) - Poetry
The Ship and the Plane, Everything Library, Haifa, 2004.
Chicken Server, Everything Library, Haifa, 2006.
The newlyweds: (He and She), Everything Library, Haifa, 2006.
Al-Asfoura «CC», Library of Everything, Haifa, 2010.
Two Birds, Everything Library, Haifa, 2010.
Al-Zanatim, The Library of Everything, Haifa (2011) - Poetry
Letters on the window glass to Mahmoud Darwish, Everything Library, Haifa (2012) - articles and poems
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Achievements and Awards
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