Omar Abu-Riche ( ar, عمر أبو ريشة, 10 April 1910 – 15 July 1990) was an influential
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 ...
n poet known for his pioneering works.
Biography
Abu-Riche was born into a wealthy literary family in
Manbij, near
Aleppo
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. He received his educational upbringing in Syria and continued his tertiary studies at the
University of Damascus
The University of Damascus ( ar, جَامِعَةُ دِمَشْقَ, ''Jāmi‘atu Dimashq'') is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through ...
. He also studied at the
American University in Beirut
The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, au ...
in 1931 and later read chemistry at the
University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
but returned to Syria in 1932. While initially a fan of Abbasid poetry, he later looked for more independent voices in poetry and considered Shakespeare's
''Venus and Adonis'' to be the greatest love poem ever written.
His favorite poets were
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...
and
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
.
He wrote the poem, "Khatam-ul-Hub" (The End of Love) and produced literary works and attended to his duties as Librarian of
Aleppo
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, Syria. In 1949, the Syrian government appointed him ambassador to
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. As a diplomat until 1964, he was ambassador to
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and finally the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
His works included several volumes of poetry and
poetic dramas.
["Go Back", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M0r_wH9Lgc]
References
Further reading
*Hafez, Sabry. (19 July 1990). "Obituary: Omar Abu-Riche". ''The Independent'' (London), p. 31.
1910 births
1990 deaths
People from Manbij District
Syrian poets
Ambassadors of Syria to Brazil
Ambassadors of Syria to Chile
Ambassadors of Syria to India
Ambassadors of Syria to Austria
Ambassadors of Syria to the United States
American University of Beirut alumni
Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester
20th-century poets
Syrian expatriates in the United Kingdom
{{Syria-diplomat-stub