Warda al-Turk

Warda Nicolas Yusuf Al-Turk (1797 – 1873) was a Lebanese poet who was born and raised in the Chouf District located in Mount Lebanon, during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. She was considered as a "revivalist" in her time, along with other remarkable women from the region, because she was able to revive old classical poetry. Through the influence of her poet father Nicolas Al-Turk who was a court poet for the historic Amir Bashir al-Shihabi II, Warda al-Turk developed a passion for writing and thus devoted most of her work to empowering women. Nicolas al-Turk who worked as a personal writer for Amir Bashir Shihab II, as well as a trusted historian documenting the series of events witnessed in Lebanon during the 18th century. Turk drew influence from her father and pursued similar work, namely poetry and writing.

Career and impact Al-Turk is considered a prominent part of the female literary community which contributed to the rise of the women's awakening in the 19th century. Not only she was able to revive the classical Arabic language and literature, but also she was able to empower women in Mount Lebanon, the Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, and the United States through her powerful writings. Al-Turk, along with her fellow poets in the neighboring region, were able to inspire the next generation of women poets and writers to address women's issues and raise awareness of their status in the society.

Marriage and children Warda al-Turk was married, but the identity of her husband remains unknown. In addition, Warda gave birth to two children who later died under unknown circumstances.

Death and afterward Warda Al-Turk died around 1873 in her hometown of Deir al-Qamar. She went into isolation and mourning, having stopped writing any poems after the passing of her beloved father in 1828.

Published works Unfortunately, most of Warda Al-Turk's work was lost. She wrote “Mouwashahat” الموشحات and “Zajal” الزجل - two types of traditional themes, as well as “Ghazal” (love poetry) غزل, “Ritha’” (lament and mourning) الرثاء, and “Mahed and Tahmi’ah”. Her admiration for the Prince Bashir Shihab II of Mount Lebanon, as well as the Bey of Tunisia, was evident in many of her works, as she consistently praised them.

Also, the Lebanese Women's Union expressed their recognition during their 1928 Conference towards the empowering women poets of the 19th century, namely Al-Yazigi's works, and especially her poem dedicated to Al-Turk.