When a man is in love how can he use old words? Should a woman desiring her lover lie down with grammarians and linguists? I said nothing to the woman I loved but gathered love's adjectives into a suitcase and fled from all languages.

Biography


Early life

Nizar Qabbani was born in the Syrian capital of Damascus to a middle class merchant family. Qabbani studied at the national Scientific College School in Damascus between 1930 and 1941. His poetic style combines simplicity and elegance in exploring themes of love eroticism feminism religion and Arab nationalism.

Qabbani is one of the most revered contemporary poets in the Arab world. His poetic style combines simplicity and elegance in exploring themes of love eroticism feminism religion and Arab nationalism. Nizar Tawfiq Qabbani (Arabic: نزار توفيق قباني‎ Nizār Tawfīq Qabbānī) (21 March 1923 – 30 April 1998) was a Syrian diplomat poet and publiNizar Qabbanir.