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Houda Naamani
(1930- )
Houda Naamani is a distinguished poet and painter who lives in
Beirut,
Lebanon. She was born in
Damascus,
Syria in 1930. The Naamanis, a prominent family in Beirut
were affected by the 1929 world’s financial crash, and the family
moved to Damascus. Her father died at the age of 42, when Houda was
eight years old. She was raised in her maternal grandfather’s house
where she was exposed to the Sufi religious heritage.
Her mother’s family, the Gazzis, were landowners and politicians.
They intermarried through the centuries with the Nabulsis, whose
ancestry includes a long line of scholars and grand mystics, related
to the Prophet Mohammed.
She spent her primary and secondary education in the French Lyceé
and the Franciscan’s School. Shortly thereafter, education in Syria
was nationalized and the French schools were closed. Houda received
her baccalaureate from the Tajhiz where she her love for the Arabic
language.
In 1947, she followed family tradition, and studied law at the
Syrian University. As a young lawyer she joined her uncle’s
practice. Said El-Gazzi was head of Parliament and later Prime
Minister during the regime of Shukri al-Quwatli.
In 1952 Houda declined a grant from Stanford University, married her
cousin A.K. Naamani. They lived in Cairo where he was Dean of
Faculty at the American University there. In 1968 they returned to
Beirut, and Houda began writing prodigiously. She was described as a
visionary, her style a blend of satire and rebellion. She mixed her
veneration for tradition with a sharp and inventive modern style.
Houda al-Naamani is a member of the Arab Writers Union and Lebanese
Union. She writes regularly for Arabic newspapers and journals.
Abroad Naamani joined the Poetry Society and Byron Society in
London, and the Library of International Woman artists in
Washington. Her voice was registered as the first Arab poet at the
Library of Congress
Among her publications are:
Many lips you have Shepherd, many hands, 2001. (A modern
representation of Song of Songs.)
Kitab el Wajd Wal Tawajod, 1998. (A dialogue with God in fourteen
chapters describing and questioning the divine relation with the
creator.)
Houda I am Thy Lord, 1991
Tumbling on the Snow, 1982
I Remember I was a Point I Was a Circle, 1978. (This was published
during the civil war I Lebanon and has been translated into
English.)
Love Poem, 1973
My Fingers… Not, 1971
To You, 1970
Her paintings have been exhibited in Beirut, London and Washington.
Her website is:
www.houdanaamani.com
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