Badr Shakir al Sayyab: the Pioneer of Modern Poetry in Contemporary Arabic Literature
Bassam Rababah, Dept. of Semitic and Oriental languages, College of Arts, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan.
Abstract
Badr Shakir al Sayyab (1926- 1964) was a leading modern poet in the Arab world as he enjoys a special status in the modern Arabic literature and a founding pioneer of the modern poetry. His poems are very well known for being translated into English and Persian. He was also a professional prose writer. Thus, his legacy is not limited to poetry but extends to include essays theses and some translated masterpieces from English into Arabic. Al Sayyab was well versed in Arabic and learnt Pesian when he was in Iran.
The present study aims at introducing Badr Shakir al Sayyab to the Persian language speakers as a pioneer in modern Arabic poetry in the contemporary Arabic literature. It also sheds more light on life, his early poetic attempts and his new approach to Arabic poetry. The study highlights his legacy, his writings and his political views. Further, the study investigates the stages of his poetry with several illustrative samples.
Keywords: Badr Shakir al Sayyab, modern poetry, contemporary Arabic literature.