Ali Ahmad Sai'd, a critically acclaimed poet and political activist whose work has been at the forefront of the Arab artistic world since the 1960s, will be coming to the College this spring as a Montgomery Fellow. The poet, who is known creatively as Adonis, will visit the college from May 1 to May 18th.
Executive Director of the Montgomery Endowment Barbara Gerstner said Sai'd's visit is important because not only is he "a renowned poet and very intellectual human being" but he will also bring an interesting "political view" to a campus that has few visitors from the Arab world.
Born in Syria and educated in Damascus, the poet has spent the past 15 years living in Paris. He currently teaches Arabic Literature at the University of Geneva.
While he is best known in the Arab world, the poet's work has been lauded internationally and translated into many languages. His work reflects the varied experiences and cultures that have been a part of his life, such as six months spent as a political prisoner in Syria.
His poetry is published in English in the volumes The Blood of Adonis (1971) and The Transformation of the Lover (1983).
In addition to several poetry collections, Sai'd has written critical essays, worked on literary journals, translated Western poets and authored scholarly works on his view of the changing Arab world.
His poetry from the 1970s including This is My Name, A Grave for New York and Singular in the Plural Form -- is considered to be among the most complex and influential poetry to come out of the Arabic world.
His earlier writings, such as The Songs of Mihyar the Damascene (1961) and The Book of Metamorphosis and Migration in the Regions of Day and Night (1965), was influential in shaping the development of Arabic poetry.
The poet has also explored issues of similarity and interaction between cultures traditionally thought of as "Western" and "Eastern." Cultural change has been a theme of his artistic and scholarly work. His modernist views are reflected in his 1973 book "The Static and the Changing."
"Beyond the East/West: Towards a Culture of the Future" is the title of the public address that Sai'd will give May 9. There will also be a reading of his work on May 15.
While at Dartmouth, Sai'd will also meet with students at the Montgomery House on Rope Ferry Road.
