Nuha al-Radi (January 27, 1941 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 ...

– August 30, 2004 in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

) was an

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 ...

diarist A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

ceramicist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whi ...

and

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and noted author of the ''Baghdad Diaries'' which vividly recounts the horror of living through the first Gulf War.

Life and career

She was born into a distinguished Iraqi family which included

Mahmud Shevket Pasha Mahmud Shevket Pasha ( ota, محمود شوكت پاشا, 1856 – 11 June 1913)David Kenneth Fieldhouse: ''Western imperialism in the Middle East 1914-1958''. Oxford University Press, 2006 p.17 was an Ottoman generalissimo and statesman, wh ...

, Prime Minister of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. In 1919, her father Mohammed Selim al-Radi was one of the first Iraqis to be educated in the United States when he studied agriculture in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He married Suad Abbas, became an Iraqi

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and was appointed ambassador to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in 1947 and then to India from 1949 to 1958, where Nuha al-Radi grew up. She was educated at private

English-speaking Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...

schools in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and

Simla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...

, except for a brief spell in 1956 when she attended a boarding school in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

to improve her

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 ...

, but this was interrupted by the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

. After the Iraqi Revolution broke out in 1958 and the monarchy was overthrown, Nuha al-Radi became a ceramist, having joined the

Byam Shaw School of Art The Byam Shaw School of Art, often known simply as Byam Shaw, was an independent art school in London, England, which specialised in fine art and offered foundation and degree level courses. It was founded in 1910 by John Liston Byam Shaw and ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and later worked with Chelsea Pottery. She returned to Baghdad and exhibited in Iraq, Britain and Europe. In 1969, her family moved to Beirut and where she graduated in liberal arts from the

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

She also taught there and continued to work and exhibit as a ceramist, but the outbreak of the

Lebanese civil war The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

forced her to return to Baghdad. In 1991, after the first three days of bombing in

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, she began writing a diary in English. This was first published as "''Baghdad Diary''” and then translated into

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

. She continued updating it until 1996. In 1998 her eyewitness account of the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

and its aftermath was published as "''Baghdad Diaries''" and translated into several languages. The 2003 edition of the book includes a postscript with remarks on the American invasion of Iraq. She died in 2004 from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

. She and her family believed that the leukemia may have been caused by the depleted uranium allies had fired at the tanks during the Gulf war.

Work

Her works have been exhibited throughout the Arab world. Her ceramic works are often inspired by Iraqi folklore. She has been praised for offering a uniquely female perspective on the male-centred business of war, occupation and economic sanctions in both her writing and her artwork.

Publications

Her book, ''Baghdad Diaries'' recounts the horrific experiences of living through the first Gulf war.Gomaa, F.M.A. "Re-membering Iraqis in Nuha al-Radi’s Baghdad Diaries: A Woman’s Chronicle of War and Exile," ''Feminist Formations,'' Vol 29, No. 1, 2017, pp. 53-70 Select list of publications * ''Baghdad Diaries: A Woman's Chronicles of War and Peace,'' Vintage Books, (1998) 2003

References

* Muneeza Shamsie, Independent scholar. "Nuha al-Radi." The Literary Encyclopedia. 10 Feb. 2003. The Literary Dictionary Company. 17 December 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Radi, Nuha 1941 births 2004 deaths Alumni of the Byam Shaw School of Art American University of Beirut alumni 20th-century Iraqi painters 20th-century women artists Artist authors Artists from Baghdad Deaths from leukemia Iraqi contemporary artists Iraqi diarists Iraqi writers Iraqi women artists Iraqi women writers War artists Women diarists Iraqi women painters 20th-century diarists

Life and career

Work

Publications

See also

References