Saadi Yousef

• Name — Saadi Yousef • Native Name — سعدي يوسف • Born — 1934 • Birthplace — Abu Al-Khaseeb, Iraq • Died — 13 June 2021 • Place of death — London, England • Resting Place — Highgate Cemetery • Language — Arabic • Genre — Poetry • Movement — Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, Shathel Taqa, Abd al-Wahhab Al-Bayyati • Awards — Al Owais Prize • Website — www.saadiyousif.com/new

Saadi Youssef studied Arabic literature in Baghdad. He was influenced by the free verse of Shathel Taqa and Abd al-Wahhab Al-Bayyati and was also involved in politics from an early age. At that time, his work was heavily influenced by his socialist and pan-Arab sympathies but has since also taken a more introspective, lyrical turn. He has also translated many well-known writers into Arabic, including Oktay Rifat, Melih Cevdet Anday, Garcia Lorca, Yiannis Ritsos, Walt Whitman and Constantine Cavafy. Following his exile from Iraq, Youssef has lived in many countries, including Algeria, Lebanon, France, Greece, Cyprus, and resided in London until his death. In 2004, the Al Owais Prize for poetry was given to Youssef. In 2007, Youssef participated in the PEN World Voices festival where he was interviewed by the Wild River Review. In 2014, Youssef's poems were forbidden from being included in the Kurdish school curriculum by the Kurdistan Regional Government over a certain poem in which he referred to Kurdistan as "Qardistan," which loosely translates to "Monkey-istan." He is buried on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery. • Illustration — Grave of Saadi Youssef in Highgate Cemetery

Saadi Yousef is recorded as poet, journalist and writer.