Amal A. Al Zahawi (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: آمال الزهاوي) (1946 – 13 February 2015) was an Iraqi poet and writer. She was born in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

and graduated from the

University of Baghdad The University of Baghdad (UOB) ( ar, جامعة بغداد ''Jāmi'at Baghdād'') is the largest university in Iraq, tenth largest in the Arab world, and the largest university in the Arab world outside Egypt. Nomenclature Both University ...

. She published her works in various Arabic magazines and started her career in the sixties. Some of her poetry collections include "The Commando and The Beast" in 1969, "Those Who Venture Seas of Death" in 1970 and "A Circle in The Light, A Circle in The Dark" in 1975. Al Zahawi was an active writer in literature. She had also written many political articles for the Arabic press. Amal Al Zahawi died at the age of 71, after suffering a stroke in

. She was buried in Shuhadaa Al-Adhamiyah Cemetery in

Lineage

She is Amal Abdulqadir Saleh Muhammad Faydi Al-Zahawi. The poet's

lineage Lineage may refer to: Science * Lineage (anthropology), a group that can demonstrate its common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of descent from an ancestor * Lineage (evolution), a temporal sequence of individuals, populati ...

goes back to the Al-Zahawi family, which is known both politically and literally in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. She is the granddaughter of the

Mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important rol ...

Sheikh Muhammad Faydi, the head of the Al-Zahawi family.ماهر هاشم إسماعيل. ''التناص في شعر آمال الزهاوي.'' (أطروحة ماجستير). جامعة مؤتة. (2016).

Childhood

Amal Al Zahawi was raised in the literary and political environment of her family, which shaped her personality and ideals. She began writing at the young age of thirteen years old.

Career

Al Zahawi received her BA in

Language from the

. She published her works in various Arabic magazines and started her career in the sixties. She had also written many political articles for the Arabic press, particularly on

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Al Zahawi was the founder the "Alf Ba" Iraqi magazine. Al Zahawi and her husband established a

printing company In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. Printers can include: *Newspaper printers, often owned by newspaper publishers *Magazine printers, usually independe ...

that includes a publishing house under the name of the

Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in S ...

Company for Printing, Publishing and Distribution, the company's name was later changed to "Amal Al Zahawi’s Publications". She contributed to printing many literary works of young poets and writers and supporting their upstart.

Poetry collections

Some of her poetry collections include: ''The Commando and The Beast'', Beirut, 1969. ''Those Who Venture Seas of Death'', Beirut, 1970. ''A Circle in The Light, A Circle in The Dark'', Baghdad, 1975. ''Joseph’s Brothers'', Baghdad, 1979. ''Fallouts'', Baghdad, 1982. ''Father Says We’ll Help Him'', Baghdad, 1986. ''Jadara'', 1997. ''Diaspora'', Beirut, 200.

Death

Al Zahawi suffered from an illness at the end of her life and became

paralyzed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

. She was staying in Al Karama Teaching Hospital, where she died on 13 February 2015. She was buried in Shuhadaa Al-Adhamiyah cemetery.

References