Syrian poet Sulaiman al-Issa passes away

Renowned Syrian poet Sulaiman al-Issa, one of the most prominent Arab contemporary poets who has dedicated much of his poetry to national and pan-Arab issues, passed away Friday in Damascus at the age of 92. The late poet had also dedicated a large part of his poetry to childhood which he regarded as the last refuge for the aspirations of the Arab nation. Funeral ceremony will be held for al-Issa, who left behind two sons and a daughter, next Sunday as he will be escorted from the University al-Assad Hospital to his final resting place in Sheikh Raslan Cemetery in Damascus. The poet's wife Dr. Malake Abiad expressed in a statement to SANA deep sorrow and grief over al-Issa's death and stressed that her husband had his abilities and strength going on throughout the period before his death feeling everything around him despite his old age. Sulaiman al Issa was born 1921 in the village of Noayriyeh near the city of Antakya in Liwa (Iskenderun). He received his first education in his village and later in Antakya and continued his education in secondary schools at Hama and Damascus. Given an Iraqi scholarship, he attended a teacher training college in Bagdad, and after graduation he returned to Syria to take up a post as first instructor of Arabic language at the Ministry of Education. He started writing poetry at the age of ten and his first collection of poetry described the misery and weariness of the peasants in his village. His nationalist poems contributed to the demonstrations and the national struggle of his fellow citizens of Iskenderun. .After the separation of his native district Liwa from Syria, he emigrated to other parts of Syria to continue with his friends the fight against the French Mandate. Al-Issa was one of the founders of the Arab Writers' Union in Syria in 1969. He spoke French and English, in addition to Arabic and Turkish. With his wife Dr. Malake Abiad, he contributed translations of many literary books ( from English and French into Arabic), mostly Algerian books originally written in French. In October 1982 he received the Afro – Asian Writers' Union Lotus Prize for poetry. In 1984, his poetical works for children received the price of the Arab League, Educational, cultural, and Scientific Organization. In 1990, he was elected as a member of the Arab Language Academy (Damascus) and in 2000, he received The Babatin Prize for poetical creativity. In 2005, he was granted the Syrian Order of Merit-Excellent Degree. Among the most famous books by the poet are The Poetical Works (4 volumes), The Path of A Life Time (Autobiographical Highlights), Al-Thumâlât (5 volumes), The Divan for Children, The Divan of Yémen, The Divan of Palestine, The Divan of Algeria, The Divan of Lebanon, The Woman in My Poetry, in addition to collections of stories and tales for children.