Mohammad Said Ibrahim Efendi Fayad (; 1921–2003) known as Said Fayad, was a Lebanese

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and literary journalist from the village of Ansar in the

Nabatieh Governorate Nabatieh Governorate ( ar, محافظة النبطية, ') is one of the nine governorates of Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in West ...

of southern

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Personal life

Fayad was the eldest son of Ibrahim Efendi Fayad, a local notable who served as a district governor under the French mandate, and Lamia Ali Dhaher, niece of the poet and religious figure Sheikh Suleiman Dhaher, a prominent intellectual in the Nabatieh governorate. Said was schooled in

Nabatieh Nabatieh ( ar, النبطية, links=no, ', ), or Nabatîyé (), is the city of the Nabatieh Governorate, in southern Lebanon. The population is not accurately known as no census has been taken in Lebanon since the 1930s; estimates range from ...

Hasbaya Hasbeya or Hasbeiya ( ar, حاصبيا) is a town in Lebanon, situated at the foot of Mount Hermon, overlooking a deep amphitheatre from which a brook flows to the Hasbani. In 1911, the population was about 5000. Hasbaya is the capital of the Wadi ...

, the Maqased in

Saida Saida may refer to: Places * Saïda, Algeria, a city in Algeria * Saïda Province, a province of Algeria * Saida, Lebanon, the Arabic name for Sidon, a city in Lebanon * Saida, a village in Helan, Mandi Bahauddin, Punjab province, Pakistan * Sai ...

and the Freres. He married Badriya Fayad and they had eight children: Afaf (step-daughter), Talal, Hilal, Daad, Dalal, Dunia, Ghada and Randa. He spent most of his career between Lebanon and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and then after retirement lived in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. He returned to Lebanon in the late 1990s where he died on 15 October 2003.

Career

Said began his career in Saudi Arabia with al-Riyad Magazine (Arabic الرياض) and Saudi Radio in

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

. He then returned to

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 ...

as a correspondent for Saudi Radio and wrote for the newspapers

al-Hadaf ''Al-Hadaf'' ('' ar, الهدف''), ('' en, The Target'') is a Palestinian weekly political and cultural magazine published in Lebanon. History and profile ''Al Hadaf'' was founded in Beirut in 1969 by Ghassan Kanafani as the political mouthpiec ...

(Arabic الهدف) and al-Rased (Arabic الراصد) from 1958 to 1968. His poems were published in numerous magazines including al-Wuroud (Arabic الورود), al-Irfan (Arabic العرفان) and al-Adeeb (Arabic الأديب). He also produced some programmes for Lebanese radio, including Fairuz Shah (Arabic فيروز شاه) and Hamza al-Arab (Arabic حمزة العرب). In 1963, he returned to

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

to work for the radio broadcasting office where he produced the daily radio programmes With the People (Arabic مع الناس), Wisdom of the Day (Arabic حكمة اليوم), and Afternoon Sun (Arabic شمس الأصيل) until his retirement in 1975 for medical reasons. He wrote the Saudi national anthem (بلادي بلادي منار الهدى]). النشيد الوطني السعودي

In 1975, he moved to

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 ...

, then in 1985 to Switzerland. From 1990 to 1996 he lived in Morocco in a suburb of

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

, close to his eldest son. He returned to Lebanon in the late 1990s where he continued to write poetry, as well as his memoirs. Dr Pierre Khabbaz (د. بيار خباز) of the Lebanese University published a study of his works in 1998 (سعيد فياض شاعرا - دراسة جمالية نفسية).

Said Fayad Literary Prize

Since 2004, the Said Fayad Literary Prize (Arabic جائزة سعيد فيّاض للإبداع الشعري) has been awarded annually in Beirut to promote and encourage excellence in Arab poetry. The prize is worth 5,000,000 Lebanese Lira (US$3,333). محمد باقر جابد الجائزة ٢٠١٤

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Poetry

Major poetic works include: * Blossoms براعم 1951 * Bouquet 1955 عبير * Clarion Call of Affection 1984 هتاف الوجدان

Prose

He produced two anthologies of articles and works in prose: * Moving images 1956 صور متحركة * On the paths of life 1985 على دروب الحياة

References

*http://www.albabtainprize.org/Encyclopedia/poet/0648.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20111025015118/http://en.alapn.com/index.php?threads_id=2498 *http://www.ndu.edu.lb/lerc/News/duniataan.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Fayad, Said 1921 births 2003 deaths People from Nabatieh District Lebanese male poets Lebanese journalists 20th-century Lebanese poets 20th-century male writers 20th-century journalists Lebanese expatriates in Saudi Arabia Lebanese expatriates in Switzerland Lebanese expatriates in the United Kingdom Expatriates in Morocco