The life of Iraq’s most influential poet, Badr Al Sayyab, will be portrayed by seven Arab artists in London, showcasing his pioneering role in shaping literature in the region.
Eighteen works will be on display in central London on Friday that depict the life of Al Sayyab, who was born in 1926 in southern Basra and died aged 38.
Al Sayyab was known as a politically engaged poet who loved Iraq deeply. His words are widely acknowledged, especially the renowned poem Song of Rain from his third collection, which was released in 1960. It is considered by critics as the most important collection of modern Arabic poetry.
“‘Not a year has passed without hunger in Iraq’– those were the famous words of Al Sayyab that are still applicable today, nothing has changed in the country,” Alaa Juma, the exhibition’s curator, told The National, ahead of the opening.
Al Sayyab is known as “one of a few writers that changed the foundations of Arabic poetry, he is the only romantic poet of that time [1940s]. His words are relatable, he reflected his own suffering and humanitarian situation in his poems, on to society,” Juma said.
His contribution to Arabic poetry simplified the complexity of the language to fit a wider audience. He highlighted ancient Iraqi-Greek mythologies and linked them to complex humanitarian subjects. “The public is still affected and touched by his words, after all of these years,” he said.
One of Al Sayyab's most famous lines urges those in power not to harm the country, Juma said.
“I wanted to celebrate this Iraqi icon,” he said, in reference to Iraq’s failure to do so due to years of war and conflict. “Why should other Arab states celebrate and cherish their talented artists, writers and we don’t?”
Juma said Al Sayyab had the power to unite Iraqis from north to south regardless of their religious and ethnic background, and is expecting a large turnout for the exhibition. The subjects of the paintings reflect Al Sayyab’s poetry, his personal life and him as a man.
Iraqi painter, sculptor and plastic surgeon Alaa Bashir told The National of his admiration for Al Sayyab’s ability to influence Arab literature in a relatable manner.
“Al Sayyab for me portrays a group of Iraqi poets who reflect their own struggles without having to please the public in a very distinct way. He never used words, or sentences to trigger attention, it was his style of portraying his personal struggles that caught the limelight,” Bashir said.
In the early 1960s, Bashir met Al Sayyab and felt he was truly a pure and genuine man. He was a humanitarian writer to the core, he said.
“Reading Al Sayyab is like … climbing a mountain, every time you climb, you discover and learn more,” Bashir said.
In one of Bashir’s paintings, the love between Al Sayyab and his mother is reflected. The poet lost his mother when he was young and he attempted to fill that void with other relations.
Bashir has one of his four Al Sayyab paintings in the exhibition, one of which is of palm trees representing the poet's love for his home in Basra.
Iraqi artist Zaid Al Fekaiki’s sculpture of Al Sayyab will also be on display during the two-day exhibition.
“I saw a picture of Al Sayyab, he was standing tall and confident and I immediately knew that this is the one, it captured my soul,” Al Fekaiki told The National. “Since we were young we’ve studied Al Sayyab, so while creating the sculpture, I used to listen to Al Sayyab all day and night, to get an idea of what he was experiencing.”
Al Fekaiki has used his art to portray talented Iraqis and to raise money for children across the war-torn country.
The exhibition, in a temporary space off Regent Street in central London, will also showcase works of Iraqi artist Faisal Laibi Sahi and others from the region.
