May Muzaffar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
May Muzaffar (born 1940; Arabic: مظفر, مي) is a Jordan-based Iraqi poet, short story writer, translator, and editor.
May Muzaffar was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1940.[1][2][3] She attended the University of Baghdad, where she studied English literature.[4]
Writing
Muzaffar is known for her work as a writer of poetry and short stories, as well as literary criticism.[5][6] She has produced five story collections, including Al Baja (1973).[2][5][6] In addition, she has published five poetry collections, including Layliyyat ("Nocturnes," 1994), Barid al-Sharq ("Mail from the Orient," 2003), and Ghiyab ("Absence," 2014).[4][5][6]
She has also written nonfiction, including a biography of the writer Nasir al-Din al-Asad.[6] In 2021, she published a memoir that shared her love story with her late husband and mourned the Iraq of her youth; it was released in English translation in 2023 as Story of Water and Fire.[7][8] Other work published in English translation includes a contribution to the 2000 collection The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology.[5][6][9]
She has also worked as a translator and editor. Her translations into Arabic include poetry from Ted Hughes and Etel Adnan, and she has served as a contributing editor to the Bahraini literary journal Thaqafat.[5][6]
Her writing from the 1970s to 1990 is seen as an important example of Iraqi women writers prevailing despite state censorship and discrimination.[10] In 1991, she left Iraq for Amman, Jordan, where she continues to reside and work, as part of a wave of Iraqi writers and artists who emigrated in this period.[6][11][12]
Personal life
May Muzaffar was married to the late Iraqi artist Rafa al-Nasiri, whom she first met in 1971.[6][7] The couple often collaborated, including on the poetry collection/art book From That Distant Land in 2007.[13][14] Since his death in 2013,[15] she has worked to preserve and promote his work and legacy.[4]
References
- ↑ Baghdad: The City in Verse. Harvard University Press. 2013-11-18. ISBN 978-0-674-72778-6.
- 1 2 Badran, Margot; Cooke, Miriam (2004). Opening the Gates: An Anthology of Arab Feminist Writing. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-21703-5.
- ↑ Altoma, Salih J. (2010-10-14). Iraq's Modern Arabic Literature: A Guide to English Translations Since 1950. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7706-1.
- 1 2 3 "Absence The Manifestations of a Recollected Presence". American University of Beirut. 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Who's Who in Research: Cultural Studies. Intellect Books. 2013-01-01. ISBN 978-1-78320-161-7.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "May Muzaffar". The British Museum. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- 1 2 Gronlund, Melissa (2024-06-22). "How May Muzaffar's memoir has peeled back Iraq's cultural history for over five decades". The National. Retrieved 2025-03-18.
- ↑ "Rafa Nasiri and May Muzaffar Collection". NYU Special Collections Finding Aids. Retrieved 2025-03-18.
- ↑ Handal, Nathalie, ed. (2015-09-30). The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology. Interlink Publishing Group Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-56656-374-1.
- ↑ Flotow, Luise von; Kamal, Hala (2020-06-09). The Routledge Handbook of Translation, Feminism and Gender. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-65805-8.
- ↑ Sairanen, Elina (2021-07-11). "Rafa Nasiri". Mathqaf. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- ↑ Al-Ali, Nadje; Al-Najjar, Deborah (2013-01-18). We Are Iraqis: Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-5199-4.
- ↑ "RAFA AL-NASIRI". Station Museum of Contemporary Art. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- ↑ "Dia Al-Azzawi (Iraqi, b. 1939): Arsak Mowt (Your Wedding is Death)". Christies. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- ↑ Elbaldawi, Lujain (May 27, 2022). "Renowned Iraqi poet Muzaffar al-Nawab dies - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". www.al-monitor.com.
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