Anwar Salman

Anwar Salman is a distinguished Lebanese modern poet who is considered to be one of the pioneers of Al-Shamiyah [the Levantine] school, a trend in Arabic poetry that focused on the esthetic aspects of the poem, with emphasis on visual and auditory imagery.

Salman was born in Ramlieh, a village in Aley district, in 1938. In 1956 he graduated from The Universal College in Aley. That same year he won Maroun Abboud Award for poetry. He spent the early years of his career working as a teacher. During that period, he made his debut with a poetry collection titled To Her (1959). A few years later he worked for an organization specialized in producing music and song recordings as well as cultural and social programs for Lebanese and Arab radio stations. He also dabbled in journalism, becoming the editing manager of Meshwar magazine. Afterwards, he was employed by the Lebanese Ministry of Culture and Higher Education as a Cultural Consultant for Cinema, Theater, and Fares.

At the outset of his poetic career, Salman joined the “Thuraya Circle” (the Pleiades), set up in 1956 by a group of Lebanese poets including Edmond Rizk, Michelle Nemeh, George Ghanim, Chauki Abou Chakra, Nour Selman, Georges Chami, Raymond Azar, and Jan Jabour. Salman was also a member of the Lebanese Writers’ Union, and in 1997 he became a board member, a position for which he was re-elected for four consecutive terms. Additionally, he served as a member of a committee that supervised the production of lyrical poetry texts in the Lebanon Broadcasting Station, and a member of the Founding Committee of the Songwriters and Melodists Council in Lebanon.

Many of Salman’s poems were set to music and sung by famous Lebanese and Arab singers. His poem, “I Don't Want An Apology” won the prize of “The Most Beautiful Song” at Carthage Festival, Tunisia, 1994; three years later, another poem, “The Beauty of Beauties,” received the first prize at Cairo International Festival for Arabic Songs; and in 1999 he was granted the Arab Pioneers’ shield for Arabic song poetry in Cairo, sponsored by the League of Arab Countries.

Salman’s poetry was anthologized in several poetry collections and anthologies including:

– Al Babtain Dictionary Of Contemporary Arab Poets : Poets’ Biographies, Foundation of Abdulaziz Saud Al-Babtain Prize for Poetic Creativity, 2006.

– Lebanese Contemporary Poetry Anthology  (ديوان الشعر اللبناني المعاصر". مختارات من أعمال 60 شاعراً بدءاً بخمسينات القرن الماضي)

(Dar Al Farabi by The Lebanese National Commission for UNESCO, et Hamza Aboud, 2008.

On April 20, 2016, the poet passed away in a car accident near his home in Beirut.

Salman’s works:

– To Her (poetry collection, 1959).

– “I Called Him the Coming King” (a collection of recorded poems, 1986).

– Colored Cards for An Age with No Festive Days (a poetry collection, 1995).

– I Search in Your Eyes for A Homeland (a poetry collection, 2004).

– “Your Love Is Not My Path to Heaven” (recorded poems accompanied by music, 2004).

– The Poem Is an Impossible Woman (a poetry collection, 2008®.

– Mirrors for Runaway Dreams (a collection of prose poems published posthumously, 2017).

– A large number of Radio programs as well as Radio and TV interviews.

Studies about Anwar Salman:

– Chreih, Mahmoud (2016). “Thuraya Circle (the Pleiades): Years Of Intellectual Radiation,” Al-Binaa Newspaper, [documentary article] November 8, 2016).

– Rizk, Edmond and Magames, George (2016), Halaket, Ath-Thurayya (Pleiades Circle). The Notre Dame University press.

– Tribute To Anwar Salman: Studies And Testimonies [a collection of 48 articles], (2017). Dar Nelson, Beirut, Lebanon.

– Hundreds of articles in newspapers, journals, magazines, and literary websites.