Fiction

Where to, O Poem

by Ali Jaafar Al Allaq

Description

This autobiographical work centers on literary creativity. Poet Ali Jaafar Alallaq recollects his academic and professional experiences, as well as their diverse ventures into poetic, literary, critical, and academic writing earlier in his life. The book covers the poet’s upbringing in a humble, impoverished village, his family’s subsequent move to Baghdad in the early 1950s, and his journey up until the present day. ///The biography details a plethora of human, cultural, and poetic events that impacted Alallaq’s perspective on events he witnessed, interacted with, or was involved in. These events range in intensity and scope, spanning from his childhood years in the countryside to navigating significant societal changes in Baghdad, and from his early explorations in writing and literary journalism to pursuing doctoral studies in the United Kingdom. He reflects on enduring two destructive wars that displaced Iraq’s people, leading to a life of exile and reliance on divine providence under the night sky. ///Beginning in 1991, Alallaq began a long period abroad that included six years of teaching at Sanaa University, followed by ten years of work at the United Arab Emirates University from 1997 to 2015. He produced a remarkable body of poetry and critical works during his tenure as a university instructor and his active involvement in cultural and poetic affairs in Sanaa and later in the UAE, which continues to this day. ///In this book, Alallaq takes on several roles, including narrator, contemplator, restorer, and descriptor, and expresses himself using elevated literary language. As a result, the work serves as an aesthetic testament to the purity of language as well as a cohesive account of the ups and downs of daily life. Despite living and working in a prosperous and stable environment for many years, he remains emotionally and imaginatively connected to the events and struggles affecting his country and the Arab world. He continues to document his aesthetic and patriotic testimony of current happenings, as clearly evidenced in his present autobiography.

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Rights Information

World rights available

Marketing Information

Winner of the 2023 Sheikh Zayed Book Award for Literature. Funding is available for translation of all literary and children’s titles that have won or have been shortlisted for the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.

Author Biography

Ali Jaafar Alallaq is an Iraqi Poet, critic, and university professor. He received a Ph.D. in Modern Literature and Criticism in the UK in 1984. He is currently a lecturer at the University of Baghdad and Mustansiriyah University, and editor-in-chief of monthly literary magazine Al-Aqlam. From 1991 to 1997, he taught at Sanaa University before moving on to become a professor of modern literature and criticism at UAEU, where he served until 2015. ///His book “al-Shi’r wa-al-talaqqi” (Poetry and Reception) won the 1997 Sharjah International Book Fair Award for best book in literary creativity. He received the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Award for poetry in 2019, and was honoured by the First Arab Cultural Festival (Istanbul, 2022) for his poetic, critical, and academic achievements. ///Alallaq is a member of several literary prize committees, and he has published over 20 books of poetry, the most recent of which include “Farashat Litabdeed Alwihda” (Butterflies to Ward Off Loneliness) and “Ila Ayn Ayyathouha Al Kaseedah” (Where to, O Poem? An Autobiography).

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Sheikh Zayed Book Award

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Bibliographic Information

  • Publisher Alaan Publishing
  • Publication Date 2022
  • Orginal LanguageArabic
  • ISBN/Identifier 9789923135358
  • Pages328
  • ReadershipGeneral
  • Publish StatusPublished
  • Original Language TitleIla Ayn Ayyathouha Al Kaseedah

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