(1929-1996) was born in north Iraq on September 26, 1926, moving to Baghdad as a boy. He started writing poetry in Kurdish and then turned to Arabic. Involved in left-wing politics, he was jailed in 1963 and put under a death sentence, only his reputation as a poet saving his life. He then lived in Lebanon until 1976 when he returned to Baghdad. He left Iraq when Saddam Hussein came to power, settling in London, where he co-founded the Union of Iraqi Democrats. He published twelve collections of poems plus three editions of his collected works. His poems have been published in English translation in many poetry anthologies.


Contributor's Issues

Banipal 18 - Autumn 2003

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