Nizar Tawfiq Qabbani (, ; 22 March 1923 – 30 April 1998) was a Syrian poet, diplomat, and publisher who is widely regarded as Syria’s national poet. Qabbani’s work is noted for its blend of simplicity and lyrical elegance, addressing themes of love, eroticism, feminism, religion, Arab nationalism, and resistance to both foreign imperialism and domestic authoritarianism. He remains one of the most celebrated and influential contemporary poets in the Arab world."Nizar Qabbani: From Romance to Exile”, Muhamed Al Khalil, 2005, A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Department of Near Eastern Studies in partial ulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate College of the University of Arizona, USA. His notable relatives include the playwright Abu Khalil Qabbani, diplomat Sabah Qabbani, writer Rana Kabbani, and translator Yasmine Seale.
Biography
Early life
Nizar Qabbani was born in Damascus, the capital of Syria, into a middle-class merchant family of Syrian-Arab origins.ترجمة نزار قباني، موسوعة الجزيرة ترجمة نزار قباني مرجع الطلاب في النقد التطبيقي - صفحة: 175عن نزار قباني وأبي خليل القباني - مجلة شؤون عربية - فصلية فكرية تصدرها وحدة المجلات في الأمانة العامة لجامعة الدول العربية - العدد: 155-156ترجمة نزار قباني - صفحة: 351 - الفيروزية: ثلاثية شامية "الأردن - سوريا - لبنان" - شيرين عادلترجمة نزار قباني، إذاعة مونت كارلو الدولية في ميلاد نزار قباني: ذكرى وحي الشعر الأول وكثير من الأسرار، مجلة سيدتي في ميلاد نزار قباني: ذكرى وفاة نزار قباني، عرب تايمز ترجمة نزار قباني، جريدة الأيام السورية ترجمة نزار قباني، إذاعة دبي - مؤسسة دبي للإعلام {وصلة مكسورة|تاريخ=2020-10-13|bot=JarBot}17 عاماً على رحيل شاعر الحب والثورة نزار قباني، جريدة النهار اللبنانية نزار قباني.. 17 عاما علي غياب شاعر التمرد، شبكة الأخبار العربية {وصلة مكسورة|تاريخ=2020-10-13|bot=JarBot} Nizar Qabbani's mother Fayza was of Turkish origin. One source reports that the Qabbani family had earlier origins in Konya, Anatolia. He was raised in the Old City of Damascus and attended the National Scientific College School from 1930 to 1941. Qabbani later studied law at Damascus University, then known as the Syrian University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in law in 1945.
The family name Qabbani is derived from the Arabic word Qabban (قبان), meaning "steelyard balance."
While studying at university, Qabbani published his first collection of poems, The Brunette Told Me, in 1942. The collection’s inclusion of sexual themes generated considerable controversy. In response, Qabbani presented the manuscript to Munir al-Ajlani, then Syria’s minister of education and a prominent nationalist figure. Al-Ajlani expressed his approval of the work and wrote the preface to the collection.
Diplomatic career Following his graduation from law school, Qabbani joined the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, serving as consul or cultural attaché in several major cities, including Beirut, Cairo, Istanbul, Madrid, and London. In 1959, after the formation of the United Arab Republic, he was appointed vice-secretary for the union’s embassies in China. During his diplomatic postings, Qabbani continued to write prolifically, producing several works considered among his finest, including poems inspired by his time in China. He remained in the diplomatic service until his resignation in 1966.
Literary influences At the age of fifteen, Qabbani’s older sister, Wisal, died under disputed circumstances."Poetry as a Social Document: The Social Position of the Arab Woman as Reflected in the Poetry of Nizâr Qabbânî,” Loya Alkhalil, 2005, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Cambridge University Press. Reflecting on his literary approach, he once stated: “Love in the Arab world is like a prisoner, and I want to set it free. I want to free the Arab soul, sense, and body with my poetry. The relationships between men and women in our society are not healthy.”
In 1981, Qabbani’s wife, Balqis al-Rawi, was killed in the 1981 Iraqi embassy bombing in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. Her death had a profound impact on his life and work, inspiring the elegiac poem Balqis, in which he expressed both personal grief and political anger, holding Arab regimes responsible for her death. In the poem, Qabbani described her life as “a sacrifice” and lamented that “after you, poetry will cease and womanhood is out of place,” portraying her loss as a metaphor for the suffering of the Arab people in the Levant."Nizar Qabbani: From Romance to Exile,” Muhamed Al Khalil, 2005, A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Department of Near Eastern Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate College of the University of Arizona, USA.
The city of Damascus remained Qabbani’s most enduring muse, inspiring numerous works, most notably The Jasmine Scent of Damascus. While deeply connected to his native city, he also expressed a pan-Arab identity, portraying the Arab world from Mauritania to Iraq as a single community united by a shared history and struggle.
In his poem Umm al-Mu'tazz, Qabbani described every Arab city as part of his “family tree,” evoking images of maternal care, childhood memories, and shared pain, and affirming his solidarity with the people of each city.
Qabbani was a vocal critic of colonial and imperial projects in the Middle East, as well as of the corruption, oppression, and hypocrisy he saw among Arab leaders. His political verse often employed direct and confrontational language. In his poem Sultan, he addressed authoritarian rulers, accusing them of silencing dissent and persecuting those who spoke out."Re-historicizing the Six-Day War: The Counter-Poetics of Nizar Qabbani,” Saddik M. Gohar, 2011, E-Journal of Literary Studies [online]. 2011, vol. 3, no. 1 .
Personal life
Family Qabbani had two sisters, Wisal and Haifa, and three brothers, Mu'taz, Rashid, and Sabah. The latter, Sabah Qabbani, became the director of Syrian radio and TV in 1960 and served as Syria's ambassador to the United States in the 1980s.
His father Tawfiq Qabbani had a chocolate factory. He also helped support fighters resisting the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon and was imprisoned many times for his views, greatly affecting the upbringing of Nizar into a revolutionary in his own right. Qabbani's grandfather, Abu Khalil Qabbani, was one of the leading innovators in Arab dramatic literature.
Marriages Qabbani married twice in his life. His first wife was his cousin Zahra Aqbiq; together they had a daughter, Hadba, and a son, Tawfiq. Tawfiq died due to a heart attack when he was 22 years old when he was in London. Qabbani eulogized his son in the famous poem "To the Damascene Prince, Tawfiq Qabbani". Zahra Aqbiq died in 2007. His daughter Hadba, born in 1947, was married twice, and lived in London until her death in April 2009.
His second marriage was to an Iraqi woman named Balqis al-Rawi, a schoolteacher he met at a poetry recital in Baghdad; she was killed in the 1981 Iraqi embassy bombing in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War on 15 December 1981. Together they had a son, Omar, and a daughter, Zainab. After the death of Balqis, Qabbani did not marry again.
Late life and death After the death of Balqis, Qabbani left Beirut. He moved between Geneva and Paris, eventually settling in London, where he spent the last 15 years of his life. In exile, Qabbani continued to write poems and raise controversies and arguments. Notable and controversial poems from this period in his life include When Will They Announce the Death of Arabs? and Runners. On 30 April 1998, at the age of 75, Qabbani died in London of a heart attack. In his will, which he wrote in his hospital bed in London, Qabbani wrote that he wished to be buried in Damascus, which he described in his will as "the womb that taught me poetry, taught me creativity and granted me the alphabet of Jasmine." He was mourned by Arabs all over the world, with international news broadcasts highlighting his illustrious literary career.
Awards and tributes 1992–1993 Al Owais Award for Cultural & Scientific Achievements. On 21 March 2016, Google celebrated his 93rd birthday with a Google Doodle.
Bibliography
Poetry Qabbani began writing poetry when he was 16 years old; at his own expense, Qabbani published his first book of poems, entitled The Brunette Told Me , while he was a law student at the University of Damascus in 1944.
Over the course of a half-century, Qabbani wrote 34 other books of poetry, including:
Childhood of a Breast (1948) Samba (1949) You Are Mine (1950) Poems (1956) My Beloved (1961) Drawing with Words (1966) Diary of an Indifferent Woman (1968) Poems of Longing (1970) Book of Love (1970) 100 Love Letters (1970) Poems Against The Law (1972) I Love You, and the Rest is to Come (1978) To Beirut the Feminine, With My Love (1978) May You Be My Love For Another Year (1978) I Testify That There Is No Woman But you (1979) Secret Diaries of Baheyya the Egyptian (1979) I Write the History of Woman Like So (1981) The Lover's Dictionary (1981) A Poem For Balqis (1982) Love Does Not Stop at Red Lights (1985) Insane Poems (1985) Poems Inciting Anger (1986) Love Shall Remain My Lord (1987) The Trilogy of the Children of the Stones (1988) Secret Papers of a Karmathian Lover (1988) Biography of an Arab Executioner (1988) I Married You, Liberty! (1988) A Match in My Hand, And Your Petty Paper Nations (1989) No Victor Other Than Love (1989) Do You Hear the Cry of My Sadness? (1991) Marginal Notes on the Book of Defeat (1991) I'm One Man and You are a Tribe of Women (1992) Fifty Years of Praising Women (1994) Nizarian Variations of Arabic Maqam of Love (1995) Alphabet of Jasmine (1998)
Other works He also composed many works of prose, such as My Story with Poetry , What Poetry Is , and Words Know Anger , On Poetry, Sex, and Revolution , Poetry is a Green Lantern , Birds Don't Require a Visa , I Played Perfectly and Here are my Keys and The Woman in My Poetry and My Life , as well as one play named Republic of Madness Previously Lebanon and lyrics of many famous songs of celebrated Arab singers, including: Mohammed Abdel Wahab (Ayazon: does he think?) Abdel Halim Hafez (Qareat Alfinjan: The cup reader) Fairuz (La Tasaalouny: Don't Ask Me) Kadhim Al-Sahir (Madrasat Alhob: School of Love) Umm Kulthum (Alan Endi Bondoqyah: Now I Have Rifle) Latifa (Talomony Aldunia: The universe blames me) Majida El Roumi (Beirut Sit Aldunia: Lady of universe Beirut) Asalah (Eghdab kama Tashaa: Get angry as you may) Najat Al Saghira (Matha Aqool Laho?: What shall I say to him?) Nancy Ajram (Ila Beirut aluntha: To the feminine Beirut )
His verses have remained popular after his death, and have been set to songs by Arab pop-music stars such as Kazem al-Saher and Latifa. However, such songs were introduced after revising the original poems.
Other languages Many of Qabbani's poems have also been translated into English and other foreign languages, both individually and as collections of selected works. Some of these collections include:
English "On Entering the Sea" (1998) "Arabian Love Poems" (1998), translated by Bassam Frangieh and Clementina R. Brown "Republic of Love" (2002), translated by Nayef al-Kalali "Journal of An Indifferent Woman" (2015), translated by George Nicolas El-Hage, PhD
Italian "Poesie", a cura di G. Canova, M.A. De Luca, P. Minganti, A. Pellitteri, Istituto per l’Oriente, Roma 1976. "Il fiammifero è in mano mia e le vostre piccole nazioni sono di carta e altri versi", a cura di V. Colombo, San Marco dei Giustiniani, Genova 2001. "Il libro dell’amore", traduzione di M. Avino, in Antologia della letteratura araba contemporanea. Dalla nahda a oggi, a cura di M. Avino, I. Camera d’Afflitto, Alma Salem, Carocci, Roma 2015, pp. 116–117.