Ebrahim Al-Arrayedh

Ebrahim Al-Arrayedh ( _ar. إبراهيم العريض, 1908-2002) was one of the greatest poets of Bahrain and the Persian Gulf. He grew up in Bombay, India without speaking any Arabic, and it was only after his family moved back to their home in Bahrain when he was eighteen did he learn the language. His first poetry was published in Baghdad in 1931. A multi-linguist, he translated the works of poets between Persian, Hindi, Urdu, English, and Arabic. Today, he remains one of the most popular writers in Bahrain.

He was also a noted reformer setting up a school, and was appointed head of the Constitutional Council by the late Amir; Sheikh Isa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa, which was responsible for developing Bahrain's Constitution in the early 1970s prior to independence from Britain.

Following his death, the King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, named one of the Kingdom’s most geographically important roads after him – opposite the Bahrain Financial Harbour. In 2006, his old house, in Gudaibiya, was turned into a cultural centre, the Ebrahim Al Arrayed Poetry House, open to tourists and as a meeting place for poets.

In 2008 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation held an exhibition in Al-Arrayedh's honour in its headquarters in Paris. [http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=221007&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=31095]

External links

* [http://www.benadorassociates.com/article/13465 A living tribute to a legendary poet] , Gulf Daily News, 1 April 2005