Habib Al Sayegh

Habib Yousef Abdullah Al Sayegh (Arabic: حبيب الصايغ) (February 8, 1955 – August 20, 2019) was an Emirati poet and writer. He was born in Abu Dhabi and obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy in 1977, as well as a Master’s degree in Comparative Linguistics and Translation in 1998 from the University of London. He worked in the fields of media and culture, as he was the Editor-in-Chief of Al Khaleej Newspaper. He was the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Writers Union,

Al Sayegh had had a daily column in Al Khaleej newspaper, He participated in many Arab and international conferences and seminars. He produced ten poetry collections,

In recognition of Al Sayegh’s role in journalism and literature, the Board of Directors of the UAE Association of Journalists named the Library of the Association’s headquarters in Dubai after him.

Early life Habib al-Sayegh was born in Abu Dhabi. He joined Al-Ittihad newspaper when he was 15 years old. In 1977, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy in 1977, as well as a Master’s degree in Comparative Linguistics and Translation in 1998 from the University of London.

Poetry He wrote classical Arabic poetry, such as “vertical poetry” (Arabic: الشعر العمودي) and “tafila” (Arabic: التفعيلة) as well as prose. In 1980, the first poetry collection of Al Sayegh's Here is the Bar of Bani Abs Tribe, Open House was published. In the following year, he published his second poetry collection, The Final Statement by the Official Spokesman for Himself. In 1982 he published Poems to Beirut and followed it with Mayari in 1983. Features was published in 1986 and Poems following the Rhythm of the Sea in 1993. Both The Rose of Old Age and Tomorrow were published in 1995. Broken Rhythm followed in 2011, and in 2012 he published A Graph for Towers of Giraffes and I Call Death “My Son”.

Awards

In 2004 he received the Taryam Omran Award (the pioneers of the press category).

Previous positions

Editor-in-Chief of “Literary Affairs” published by the Emirates Writers Union, for the issues from 58 to 62 and 71 to 72. Director of Internal Media at the Ministry of Information and Culture in 1977. Head of the UAE delegation to the Civil Society Forum for the Future. Journalist and columnist who contributed to journalism in the UAE from its early beginnings. His daily column, which was first published in February 1978, continued until his passing. since 2009 and until his death.

Works

Here is the Bar of Bani Abs Tribe, Open House (1980) The Final Statement by the Official Spokesman for Himself (1981) Poems to Beirut (1982) Mayari (1983) Features (1986) Poems following the Rhythm of the Sea (1993) The Rose of Old Age (1995) Tomorrow (1995) A Graph for Towers of Giraffes (2011) Broken Rhythm (2011) Complete Poetical Works – Part One (2012) Complete Poetical Works – Part Two (2012)