For the first time in English this important book on Khalil Hawi is now available with an introduction and notes. In addition to the translator's introduction and the English translation of the original thirty-one letters, this book includes (in Arabic) a poem dedicated to the memory of Hawi and a two-part article (in Arabic) that explains Hawi's poetic universe. There is also a personal biography of Hawi, the only such account dictated by Khalil Hawi himself. Hawi was a very private man. He guarded his privacy with extreme secrecy. What he chose to reveal of himself publicly was a very different persona from the real man behind the mask that he displayed to the outside world. The image that he presented was of a happy and content man whose laughter was unmistakably loud and reverberated like the sound of bells on the tower of the ancient church in Duhur al-Shuweir. He was also the important, well respected, yet humble professor at the American University of Beirut. He was the avant-garde pioneer poet of Modern Arabic Poetry whose reputation and fame reached the widest audience in the Arab world. He was also the well-attired, elegant and sociable man who was always surrounded by friends, admirers, students and followers. In contrast, these pages reveal some of the most intimate and private moments in his life that he probably would have liked to keep undisclosed. Here, Hawi is vulnerable, sentimental, sometimes meek and emotional, sometimes overwhelmed and burdened, sick, conflicted, extremely lonely, irritable, judgmental and concerned with his reputation and his status as a major pioneer poet in the Arab world. In spite of all this, it is also clearly evident that what we know of Khalil, the man and the human being, and what we admire about Hawi, the poet, is unmistakably manifested throughout these letters. Furthermore, like most of his contemporaries, the illustrious intellectuals, poets and thinkers of his time, Hawi was politically involved, doctrinally engaged and actively committed. His passionate beliefs ultimately led to his personal demise.
About the Author: George Nicolas El-Hage, Ph.D. is a Lebanese-American poet, professor, linguist, administrator and writer. He was born in Mansourieh El-Metn, Lebanon in 1952. His father was Nicolas Iskandar El-Hage and his mother was Martha Abounader El-Hage. Dr. El-Hage completed his elementary and secondary school education in Lebanon. He acquired his B.A. in Arabic Literature from the Lebanese University in Beirut, Lebanon. While in Beirut, El-Hage studied with and was influenced by poets like Buland al-Haidari and Khalil Hawi. He then immigrated to the United States where he completed both his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in Arabic and Comparative Literature at the Binghamton University. His dissertation (later published into a book by NDU Press, Lebanon) was on William Blake and Kahlil Gibran: Poets of Prophetic Vision. He has taught at Yale University, Binghamton University, The Lebanese University, Columbia University, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and the Defense Language Institute. His academic career has been equally spent between teaching, authoring, lecturing and administration. Dr. El-Hage is a prolific writer with a perfect command of both English and Arabic languages. His training and expertise in the field of Arabic and Comparative Literature has enabled him to delve into a wide range of topics and areas covering literature, mythology, mysticism, language acquisition, criticism, theology and art. He is a published poet in Arabic, both in Modern Standard and in spoken Levantine Dialect as well as in Lebanese Zajal. He also writes poetry in English and is an accomplished translator. Dr. El-Hage has published seven volumes of poetry, numerous research articles, books on language pedagogy and poetry in Lebanese Dialect and Zajal. His poetry betrays a marked fluctuation between a deep romantic sensitivity and a tragic existential awareness which colors his reading of current universal and regional events. The tragedy of his embattled country constitutes a dominant theme in his writings. El-Hage is a supporter of the free verse movement in Modern Arabic Poetry. Nevertheless, he still appreciates the Qasida 'Amudiyya, the classical form of traditional Arabic Poetry. He always chooses short meters, and his poetry is characterized by its musical effects. Many of Dr. El-Hage's books are available on www.amazon.com.