Elijah Abu Madi is a Lebanese writer, journalist, and author, born in 1889. His poetry was linked to the tragedy of Palestine and was present in his conscience. He lived his childhood in Lebanon and part of his youth in Egypt, then moved to the United States of America, and contributed to the founding of the Al-Qalamiyya League. He is classified among the diaspora writers who contributed to the renewal of modern Arabic poetry and brought it out of the monotony of imitation and emulation into the space of creative imagination that depicts the real life of his society.
Birth and upbringing
Elijah Daher Abu Madi was born in 1889 in the village of Al-Mahidtha, Mount Lebanon Governorate, to a poor family professing the Christian religion.
Between the differences in religions and the diversity of sects, he saw the beginnings of life. He was raised to love tolerance and the necessity of coexistence, and was convinced that difference was a source of strength for the nation.
He grew up in a poor family consisting of 6 boys and a girl that lived in the mountainous countryside, and had no way to study or learn, but with strong self-made self-esteem, he overcame poverty with determination and lofty ideas, until he dominated the arena of literature and poetry in his time.
Study and training
Elijah Abu Madi received his early primary education at the school in the village of Al-Muhayditha, next to the church, and during his childhood signs of brilliance in the Arabic language appeared in him.
Because of his family’s poverty, the harsh living conditions forced him to leave school, when he was still 11 years old.
In 1902, he immigrated to Egypt to work with his uncle, who was a tobacco merchant, and there he experienced the cultural movement that was prevalent in the Republic of Egypt at that time, so he devoted himself to reading books and reviewing newspapers and literary magazines.
In Alexandria and Cairo, he frequented the Kuttab sheikhs to study grammar and Arabic language sciences, until he learned how to make poetry and his talent developed.
Poetic experience
After settling in Egypt in 1902, he began trying to write. He coincidentally met Antoun Gemayel, who had created the Al-Zohour magazine, and he invited him to write in it after he discovered his literary talent.
After a period of poetic writing that was published in some Egyptian magazines, he published his first collection, “Remembrance of the Past,” in 1911, when he was still 22 years old.
This collection was dominated by romantic and political poetry, and was characterized by a classic sweetness based on the sentimentality of the meaning and the imagination of nature.
As a result of economic and political circumstances, he carried the baggage of literature in his conscience and headed towards the United States of America in 1912, and joined a number of Arab writers who established there what became known as “diaspora literature,” which played an important role in enriching modern Arab poetry.
Among the most prominent writers and poets who established this literature and raised the banner of Arabic in the West: Amin Al-Rihani and Gibran Khalil Gibran, who published a number of newspapers and magazines in the Arabic language, such as “Mirror Al-Gharb” and “Al-Sayeh Newspaper” in 1912, and “Al-Funoun” newspaper in New York in the same year. .
In 1916, he moved from Cincinnati to New York and founded, with Gibran Khalil Gibran and some other writers, what was known as the “Pen League.”
In 1929, Abu Madi established “Al-Samir” magazine, which was a platform for poets and dealt with various social and literary topics.
Through this magazine, he established what is called “the idea of the poem,” as he considered that the bottom line in poetry in general is the idea on which the text is based and the poet tries to crystallize it in the literary content.
Based on this idea, he created a slogan for Al-Samir magazine, which was published in New York, consisting of two verses of poetry:
I am not giving you any paper
Others are satisfied with ink and paper
I only guide your souls
An idea that remains if the gear burns.
In 1948, he visited Beirut at the invitation of UNESCO Which held a conference there in the same year.
Coinciding with his visit to his native Lebanon, a party was held honoring him, and the radio broadcast excerpts of his poetry.
In 1949, he visited Syria and a party was held for him at the University of Syria (Damascus University) under the auspices of the President of the Republic.
Writers and poets celebrated him, and this coincided with the publication of the second edition of his collection, “Al-Khama’il,” which left a great resonance in literary circles.
Jobs and responsibilities
Elijah Abu Madi began his life with toil and self-employment, and at an early stage of his life he began to seek livelihood and subsistence. He was not one of the beggars with poetry nor one of the praisers who made a living from their words. He practiced various professions, the most important of which were:
- Tobacco merchant and seller in Alexandria 1902.
- Writer and editor in Al-Zuhur newspaper in the period between 1904 and 1911.
- Member of the New York Pen League in 1916.
- Editor in “Mirrat Al-Gharb” newspaper between 1918 and 1928.
- Founder and editor-in-chief of Al-Samir magazine in 1929.
- Publisher of Al-Samir newspaper, which replaced the magazine in 1936
- He worked as a guest lecturer at many literary festivals and forums throughout his life.
His writings
The poet Elia Abu Madi left a number of collections of poetry and literary and social articles. Five collections of his have been published:
- “Remembrance of the Past,” his first collection of poems, was published in Alexandria in 1911.
- The poetry collection of Elijah Abu Madi, which is his second collection, was printed in New York in 1918.
- The tables were printed in New York and Al-Kamal Press in Egypt in 1927.
- Al-Khamayel, which is his most accepted, welcomed and interactive collection among the literary elite in the East, and in which his optimistic and humanistic tendency in poetry was evident.
- “Sil and Dust” was published in Beirut in 1960.
- The book “Elijah Abu Madi’s Complete Poetical Works” by Dr. Abdul Karim Al-Ashtar, published in Kuwait in 2008.
In the eyes of critics
In 1956, the Jordanian researcher Rox Al-Azizi published an article in which he accused the poet Elia Abu Madi of stealing the poem “Al-Tin.” He considered it plagiarized from a poem by a poet from the Jordan Valley called Al-Rumaithi. He said that Elia translated its meanings into classical Arabic only, and described him as “the cute thief.”
This angered Abu Madi, and he wrote several articles, describing Al-Azizi as “the liar of Amman.”
As for Taha Hussein, from whose criticism none of the poets was spared, he described the language of Elia Abi Madi as poor, weak, and unable to describe ideas.
Despite all this, critics unanimously approved of Elijah’s poetry, describing it as humane and close to reality.
Awards and honors
He received a number of awards and medals during his life, and he was also honored after his death, and streets in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan were named after him. Among the most important awards and decorations he received are:
- Knight Medal of Honorary Merit in Gold in Beirut in 1948.
- Medal of Merit, Excellent, from the President of the Syrian Republic in 1949.
