Haggag Salama

The late Iraqi poet Saadi Youssef is considered a pioneer of modern poetics, often called the rebel poet. He died in London in 2021 at the age of 87. He worked in teaching and journalism before leaving Iraq. He is one of the most prominent poetic voices in the Arab world. His style had a great influence on contemporary Arabic poetry. He was a member of the Iraqi Communist Party and opposed the 2003 invasion. He published more than forty poetic volumes and translated works by Walt Whitman and Garcia Lorca. Critics described him as the "Great who will not be repeated."