Muhammad al-Maghut

Muhammad al-Maghout (1934–April 3, 2006) (محمد الماغوط) was a renowned Syrian writer and poet.

Biography
He was born in the town of Salamiyah, Hama Governorate, in Syria to an Isma'ili family. He was married to the poet Saniya Salih.

Muhammad Maghout has been credited as the father of Arabic free verse poetry, liberating Arabic poems from the traditional form and revolutionizing the structure of the poem. While in prison in the 1950s, he wrote his first poems on cigarette papers as a personal memoir of his prison experience, later discovered to be revolutionary poetry. Without formal education, his future work tapped into his vivid imagination, innate mastery of words, and intuition. He wrote for theater, TV, and cinema. Maghout's work combined satire with descriptions of social misery and malaise, and what he viewed as an ethical decline among rulers in the region. Some of his themes included the problems of injustice and totalitarian governments. The struggle of the marginalized was at the heart of all his work. His first theatrical production, "The Hunchback bird", was originally a long poem that he wrote while in hiding in a small, low-ceilinged room. A dialogue emerged within the poem, transforming it to his first theatrical production. This was followed by another play, "The Clown", played by the renowned Lebanese actor Antoin Kerbaj. He cooperated with Syrian actors Dureid Lahham and Nihad Qal'i to produce some of the region's most popular and acclaimed theatrical works, such as Kasak ya Watan (Toast to the homeland), Ghorbeh (Estrangement), and "Dayat Tishreen" (October's Village).

Al-Maghout is also known for his book "I will betray my homeland", a collection of columns concerned with the dream of freedom.

Al-Maghout died in April 2006 at the age of 72.

Quotes
"Policemen, Interpol men everywhere; you search for the perfect crime... there is only one perfect crime; to be born an Arab."

"I am the one who has not been killed yet at war, by earthquake or street accident."

"The Arab world is astonishingly devoid of listening devices, simply because nobody speaks there"

Poetry

 * 1959: Sadness in the moonlight (Huzn fi daw when qamar)
 * 1964: A room with millions of walls (Gurfa bi malayin al-judrán)
 * 1970: Joy is not my profession (Al-farah laysa mihnati)
 * 2001: The rose slayer (Sayaf al-zohour)
 * 2005: East of Eden, West of God (Sharq Adan, Gharb alaah)
 * 2006: The red bedouin (Al-badawi al-ahmar)

Books

 * I will betray my homeland (Sa akhoun watani) A best seller collection of essays that transcends time and location
 * The rape of "Kana" and her sisters (Ightisab kana wa akhawateha) is a collection of quotes and interviews by Al-Maghout. (Kana and her sisters are Arabic words that dictate the case of words following them.)

Theater

 * The hunchback bird (Al-ousfour al ahdab)
 * The Clown (المهرج)
 * October Village (ضيعة تشرين)
 * Exile (Ghorbeh)
 * Cheers Nation (Kasak ya watan)
 * The Poppy Anemone (Shaqaeq al-nomaan)
 * Outside the flock (kharej al-sareb)

TV

 * The night tales (Hakaya al-lyl)
 * Where is the mistake (Wayn al-ghalat)
 * The musk valley (wady al misk)

Movies

 * The borders (Al-hodoud)
 * The report (Al-taqreer)

Translations

 * Joy is not My Profession, translated by John Asfour and Alison Burch (Signal Editions, Montreal, 1994)

Awards

 * 2005: Prize for Poetry – Al Owais Award, administered by the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation.
 * 2000: Medal of the Experimental Theater – Cairo.
 * 1973: Prize of Said Aql of Theater.
 * 1950: Prize For Poetry – An-Nahar Newspaper.