Nazik al-Malaika ( ar, نازك الملائكة; 23 August 1923 – 20 June 2007
[''International Herald Tribune''](_blank)
/ref>) was an Iraqi poet. Al-Malaika is noted for being among the first Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a 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. E.Watson; Walter ...
poets to use free verse
Free verse is an open form of poetry, which in its modern form arose through the French '' vers libre'' form. It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech.
Defi ...
.[AP via ''The Guardian'', "Iraq Poet Nazik Al-Malaika Dies at 85" June 21, 2007](_blank)
/ref>
Early life and career
Al-Malaika was born in Baghdad to a cultured family. Her mother was also a poet, and her father was a teacher. She wrote her first poem at the age of 10. Al-Malaika graduated in 1944 from the College of Arts in Baghdad and later completed a master's degree in comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...
at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
with a Degree of Excellence. She entered the Institute of Fine Arts and graduated from the Department of Music in 1949. In 1959 she earned a Master of Arts in Comparative Literature from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the United States, and she was appointed professor at 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 ...
, the University of Basrah
The University of Basra ( ar, جامعة البصرة ''Jāmi'at Al Basrah'') is situated in the city of Basra, Iraq. For historic reasons the final ''-h'' is retained on ''Basrah'' in the name of the university.
Founded in 1964 to meet the needs ...
, and Kuwait University
Kuwait University ( ar, جامعة الكويت, abbreviated as Kuniv) is a public university located in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
History
Kuwait University (KU), (in Arabic: جامعة الكويت), was established in October 1966 under Act N. 29 ...
.
Career
Al-Malaika taught at a number of schools and universities, most notably at the University of Mosul
The University of Mosul is a public university located in Mosul. It is one of the largest educational and research centers in the Middle East, and the second largest in Iraq, behind the University of Baghdad.
The University of Mosul was closed b ...
.
Leaving Iraq
Al-Malaika left Iraq in 1970 with her husband Abdel Hadi Mahbooba and family, following the rise of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party of Iraq
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
to power. She lived in Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
until Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
's invasion in 1990. Al-Malaika and her family left for Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
, where she lived for the rest of her life. Towards the end of her life, al-Malaika suffered from a number of health issues, including Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
.
She died in Cairo in 2007 at the age of 83.
Works
One of her poems, ''Medinat al Hub,'' inspired the Iraqi artist and scholar, Issam al-Said
Issam al-Said (1938-1988) was a distinguished Iraqi painter, print-maker, designer, etcher, architect, philosopher and author who completed several major public buildings in Baghdad and in London.
Life and career
Issam al-Said was born in Bag ...
to produce an artwork with the same name. Al-Malaika published several books of poems:
* her first book of poetry, "The Nights Lover" (), after her graduation.
* She wrote a poem, "The Cholera" (), which is considered by critics as a revolution in the Arabic poem in 1947.
* "Shrapnel and Ashes" () followed in 1949.
* She published "Bottom of the Wave" () in 1957.
* her final volume "Tree of the Moon" () being published in 1968.
* "The sea changes its color" () in 1977[''Maquis Who's Who'', 2006 "Nazik Al-Malaika" and Guardian Op Cit.]
Translation in other languages
English
Emily Drumsta translated a selection of Al-Malaika's poems into English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, collected in a book titled Revolt Under The Sun.
Nepali
Some of Al-Malaika's poems were translated into Nepali by Suman Pokhrel, and collected along with the works of other poets in an anthology titled Manpareka Kehi Kavita.
See also
* Iraqi art
Iraqi art is one of the richest art heritages in world and refers to all works of visual art originating from the geographical region of what is present day Iraq since ancient Mesopotamian periods. For centuries, the capital, Baghdad was the Med ...
* List of Iraqi artists
The following is a list of important artists, including visual arts, poets and musicians, who were born in Iraq, active in Iraq or whose body of work is primarily concerned with Iraqi themes or subject matter.
Note: This article uses Arabic nami ...
* Amal Al Zahawi
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malaika, Nazik Al-
1923 births
2007 deaths
University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
Iraqi emigrants to Kuwait
20th-century Iraqi poets
Iraqi women writers
Writers from Baghdad
Iraqi writers
Iraqi Shia Muslims
University of Baghdad faculty
University of Basrah faculty
Kuwait University faculty
Iraqi women poets
Arabic-language women poets
Arabic-language poets
20th-century women writers
21st-century Iraqi poets
Iraqi expatriates in the United States
Iraqi expatriates in Kuwait
Iraqi expatriates in Egypt