Haider Mahmoud

Haider Mahmoud (Arabic :حيدر محمود) is a poet from Jordan. He was born in Haifa in 1942. His family fled their home in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. He studied in Amman before pursuing his higher education in the UK and the US.

Mahmoud worked in journalism and the media, he was also Jordan's Ambassador to Tunisia, and he later held the culture portfolio in the Jordanian government.

A poem he wrote in 1989 about the social injustices facing ordinary citizens was one of the triggers of the civil unrest that took several Jordanian cities. He demanded the resignation of the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Zeid Al Rifai, who ordered the sacking and imprisonment of Mahmoud, who held the position of Advisor to the Prime Minister at the time. Mahmoud was later released by direct order from King Hussein who also sacked his Prime Minister.

Mahmoud's works have been published in Spanish, French and Serbian, and his works are taught in the Jordanian curriculum. He was granted an honorary doctorate from the World Academy for Culture and Arts in the Republic of China in 1986.

Mahmoud was granted several Arab and international awards and medals, including the King Abdullah II Award for Innovation in the Field of Literature (Jordan, 2004), Al-Istiklal Medal of First Order (Jordan, 1991), Medal of the Republic of the Supreme Order (Tunisia, 1999), Ibn-Khafaja Award for Poetry (Spain, 1986).

He currently writes a weekly column in the Jordanian newspaper "Al Ra'i".

Published anthologies

* Yamurru Hatha Al Layl (The Night Shall Pass) 1969.
* I'tithar An Khalal Fanni Tare'e (Apology for a Technical Fault) 1979.
* Shajar Addufla Ala Al Nahr Yughanni (The Oleander Sings by the River) 1981.
* Min Akwal Al Shahed Al Akheer (From the Words of The Last Witness) 1986.
* The Complete Works, (Vol I) 1990.
* Al Nar Allati La Tushbih Al Nar (The Fire Which is not Like Fire) 1999.
* The Complete Works (Vol II) 2001.
* Aba'at Al Farah Al Akhdar (The Shawls of Green Joy) 2006.
* Fil Bid'e Kan Al Nahr (In The Begining There was the River) 2007.

Plays

* Arageel Wa Suyuf 1969.
* Birjas 1977.

External links

* [http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AD%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%B1_%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%88%D8%AF حيدر محمود]
* [http://www.fikr5.org/En/Speakers/Haidar.php Biography]
* [http://www.culture.gov.jo/inside_frame.php?src=sl&lang=ar&id=5232 Jordan Ministry of Culture] Link in Arabic.
* [http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/FFA1054B-0FA8-4CE1-8188-F166C8EC0944.htm Al Jazeera Interview] Link in Arabic.