Elijah Abu Madi. Lebanese poet inhabited by Palestine

Highlights: Elia Abou Madi is a Lebanese writer, journalist and author, born in 1889. His poetry was associated with the tragedy of Palestine and was present in his conscience. He lived his childhood in Lebanon and part of his youth in Egypt, then moved to the United States of America. He is classified among the writers of the diaspora who contributed to the renewal of modern Arabic poetry and brought it out of the monotony of tradition and simulation to the space of creative imagination that draws the real life of his society.

Lebanese writer, journalist and author, born in 1889. His poetry was associated with Palestine, and he lived his childhood in Lebanon and part of his youth in Egypt, then moved to the United States of America, and contributed to the establishment of the Pen League. It is classified among the Arab writers of the diaspora.

Lebanese poet Elia Abu Madi (social media)

Elia Abou Madi is a Lebanese writer, journalist and author, born in 1889, whose poetry was associated with the tragedy of Palestine and was present in his conscience. He lived his childhood in Lebanon and part of his youth in Egypt, then moved to the United States of America, and contributed to the establishment of the Pen League, and is classified among the writers of the diaspora who contributed to the renewal of modern Arabic poetry and brought it out of the monotony of tradition and simulation to the space of creative imagination that draws the real life of his society.

Birth and upbringing

Elia Daher Abou Madi was born in 1889 in the village of Mheidtha in Mount Lebanon Governorate to a poor Christian family.

Between the differences of religions and the multiplicity of sects, he saw the beginnings of life, he was raised on the love of tolerance and the need for coexistence, and he was convinced that difference is a source of strength for the nation.

He grew up in a poor family consisting of 6 boys and a girl and inhabits the mountainous countryside, and does not know the way to study and science, but with a strong self-made he suffered poverty with vigor and the transcendence of ideas, until he prevailed on the scene of literature and poetry in his time.

Study and training

Elia Abu Madi received his early primary education at the village of Al-Muhaidtha school, next to the church, and in his childhood he showed signs of genius in the Arabic language.

Because of his family's poverty, harsh living conditions forced him to drop out of school at the age of 11.

In 1902, he emigrated to Egypt to work with his uncle, who was a tobacco merchant, and there he lived the cultural movement that prevailed in the Republic of Egypt at the time, so he worked on reading books and supporting newspapers and literary magazines.

In Alexandria and Cairo, he frequented among the sheikhs of the Katateeb to study grammar and Arabic language sciences, until he learned the poetry industry and developed his talent.

Poetic experience

After settling in Egypt in 1902, he began to try to write, and by chance he met Antoun Gemayel, who had established the magazine Al-Zohor, and invited him to write there after discovering his literary talent.

After a period of writing poetry that was published in some Egyptian magazines, his first book "Memento of the Past" was published in 1911, at the age of 22.

This book was dominated by flirtatious and political poetry, and was characterized by the character of classical sweetness that is based on the sentiment of meaning and the imagination of nature.

As a result of economic and political circumstances, he carried the bags of literature in his conscience and turned to the United States of America in 1912, and joined a number of Arab writers who founded there what became known as "Diaspora Literature", which played an important role in enriching modern Arabic poetry.

Among the most prominent writers and poets who founded this literature and raised the banner of Arabic in Western countries: Amin Rihani and Gibran Khalil Gibran, where they issued a number of newspapers and magazines in Arabic such as "The Mirror of the West" and "The Tourist Newspaper" in 1912 and the newspaper "Arts" in New York in the same year.

In 1916, he moved from Cincinnati to New York and founded with Gibran Khalil Gibran and some other writers what was known as the "Pen League".

In 1929, Abu Madi established al-Samir, a platform for poets, dealing with various social and literary topics.

Through this magazine, he established the so-called "idea of the poem", as he considered that the whole point in poetry in general is the idea on which the text is based and the poet tries to crystallize it in the literary content.

Based on this idea, he made the magazine "Al-Samir", which was published in New York, a slogan consisting of two verses of poetry:

I don't give you papers

Others accept ink and paper

I dedicate to your souls

Thought remains if the gear burns out.

In 1948 he visited Beirut at the invitation of UNESCO, which held a conference there the same year.

Coinciding with his visit to his native Lebanon, a ceremony was held for him, and the radio broadcast excerpts from his poetry.

In 1949 he visited Syria and a concert was held for him at the University of Syria (Damascus University) under the auspices of the President of the Republic.

He was celebrated by writers and poets, and this coincided with the publication of the second edition of his book "Al-Khamael", which left a great resonance in literary circles.

Functions and responsibilities

Elia Abu Madi began his life with toil and self-taught, and at an early stage of his life he began to seek livelihood and subsistence, and he was not a beggars in poetry or a praise who mercenary with their words, he practiced a variety of professions, the most important of which are:

Merchant and seller of tobacco in Alexandria 1902.
Writer and editor of Al-Zuhur newspaper between 1904 and 1911.
Member of the Pen Association in New York in 1916.
Editor of the newspaper "Mirror of the West" between 1918 and 1928.
Founder and editor-in-chief of Al-Sameer magazine in 1929.
Publisher of Al-Sameer newspaper, which replaced the magazine in 1936
He worked as a guest lecturer in many literary festivals and forums throughout his life.

His Writings

The poet Elia Abu Madi left a number of poetry collections and literary and social articles, and 5 collections were printed for him:

"Memento of the Past", his first collection, was printed in Alexandria in 1911.
Elijah Abu Madi's Diwan, his second book, was printed in New York in 1918.
Tables, printed in New York and the perfect press in Egypt in 1927.
Al-Khamael, his most accepted, welcoming and interactive collection among the literary elite in the Levant, and in which his optimism and humanism were manifested in poetry.
"Tiber wa Turab", published in Beirut in 1960.
The book "Elia Abu Madi The Complete Poetic Works" by Dr. Abdul Karim Al-Ashtar, was printed in Kuwait in 2008.

In the eyes of critics

In 1956, the Jordanian researcher Rox Al-Azizi published an article in which he accused the poet Elia Abu Madi of stealing the poem "Clay", and considered it slaughtered from a poem by a poet from the Jordan Valley called Al-Rumaithi, and said that Elijah translated its meanings into classical only, and described him as "the cute thief".

This angered Abu Madi, who wrote several articles, calling Azizi a "liar of Oman."

Taha Hussein, whose criticism has not spared any of the poets, described the language of Elijah Abi Madi as thin, weak and unable to describe ideas.

Despite all this, critics unanimously applauded Elijah's poetry, describing it as humane and close to reality.

Awards and honors

He received a number of awards and honors in his lifetime, and was honored after his death, and streets were named after him in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, and the most important awards and honors he received:

Knight of the Honorary Merit in Beirut in 1948.
Order of Merit of the excellent degree from the President of the Syrian Republic in 1949.

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