English C.v

Education and Academic Background
Ali J. Al-Alaq earned his Ph.D. in Modern Literature and Criticism from the University of Exeter, UK, in 1984. His doctoral dissertation, titled Artistic Problems in Al-Bayaty’s Poetry: A Comparative Critical Study, analyzed the artistic challenges in the poetry of Badr Shakir Al-Sayyab and the broader landscape of Arabic modernist poetry.

B.A in Arabic Language and Literature, Al – Mustanssiriyya University, Baghdad, Iraq, 1973.

Academic Experience

Professor of Modern Literature and Criticism at United Arab Emirates University, 2001–2015.

Associate Professor of Modern Arabic Literature and Criticism at United Arab Emirates University. 1997- 2001.

Assistant Professor of Arabic Literature and Criticism at Sana’a University 1991-1997.

Lecturer at Al-Mustansiryya University, 1984-1987.

Lecturer at Baghdad University, 1988-1990.

Courses taught

Modern Arabic Criticism

Modern Arabic Literature.

Literary Texts Analysis.

Women Literary Theory

Comparative Literature

Pre-Islamic Poetry

Awards and Recognition
Dr. Al-Alaq’s poetic and critical works have earned him significant recognition on both the Arab and international literary stages.

• In 2023, he was awarded the prestigious Sheikh Zayed Book Award.
• In 2019, he received the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation Prize for Poetry.
• He was honored at the First Arab Cultural Festival in Istanbul (2022) for his lifetime achievements in poetry, criticism, and academia.
• His critical work Poetry and Reception won Best Literary Creation Award at the Sharjah International Book Fair in 1997.
• In 2016, he was recognized alongside Kamal Abu Deeb and Jamal Naji at the Arab Innovators Forum in Amman for his literary and cultural contributions.

Publications: Poetry

Dr. Al-Alaq has published numerous poetry collections that showcase his deep engagement with modern poetic forms and themes. His works explore existential questions, human connections, and the natural world with striking imagery and innovative techniques. Some of his notable poetry collections include:

• The Five Poems and Other Texts (Baghdad, 2024).
• Light’s Apple: Selected Poems (Amman, 2021).
• Butterflies to Dispel Loneliness (Amman, 2021).
• The Recent Poetry Collections (Dubai, 2021).
• A Bird Stumbling Over the Light (Amman, 2018).
• A Homeland Spelling the Rain (Beirut, 2015).
• Collected Works (2 volumes, Amman, 2014).
• Even the Pebbles Speak (Beirut, 2013).
• The Call of Beginnings (Beirut, 2013).
• To Hunt the Dew (Amman, 2011).
• Herb of Illusion: Selected Poems (Cairo, 2010).
• So I Told the Wind (Beirut, 2008).
• Master of Two Solitudes (Beirut, 2006).
• Lost Kingdoms (Cairo, 1999; 2nd ed., Beirut, 2004).
• Days of Adam (Baghdad, 1993; 2nd ed., Damascus, 2008).
• The Family Tree (Baghdad, 1979).
• A Homeland for Water Birds (Baghdad, 1975).

Critical and Prose Works
Dr. Al-Alaq is also an accomplished critic and prose writer. His critical studies and essays focus on modern poetic movements, semiotic analysis, and the aesthetics of literary texts. Some of his notable prose and critical works include:

• A Tribe of Rivers: A Special Biography (Sharjah, 2024).
• Here’s the Forest, Where Are the Trees? (Sharjah, 2024).
• Where to, O Poem? (Amman, 2022).
• Dream, Consciousness, and Poetry: On Poetry and Its Surroundings (Damascus, 2022).
• The Elusive Meaning: Readings in Poetic Textuality (Amman, 2020).
• In Praise of Texts: Intimate Critical Readings (Amman, 2019).
• From the Myth of the Text to the Myth of the Narrative (Amman, 2010).
• Visual Semantics (Amman, 2002, 2013).
• In the Modernity of Poetic Texts (Baghdad, 1990; Amman, 2003, 2013).
• The Kingdom of Gypsies (Baghdad, 1981).

Translations and Global Impact
Dr. Al-Alaq’s poetry has been translated into English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. In 2024, his biography was translated into Portuguese by the translator Nasreen Matar, further cementing his global influence.

Areas of Interest
His critical and academic endeavors focus on the study of modern poetic movements in their various Arab manifestations. He is particularly interested in employing contemporary critical methodologies to explore creative texts, especially poetry, and their interpretation.

Participation and Jury Memberships
Dr. Al-Alaq has actively participated in numerous poetry festivals and literary conferences across the Arab world and internationally. He has also served on the juries of many prestigious awards, including:

• The King Faisal International Prize (Riyadh).
• The Sheikh Zayed Book Award (Abu Dhabi).
• The Arab Poetry Award (Cairo).
• The Mohammed Afifi Matar Award (Cairo).
• The Mohammed Al-Qaisi Poetry Award (Amman).
• The Kuwait Prize for Scientific Advancement.
• The Al-Babtain Prize for Poetic Creativity (Kuwait).
• The Sharjah Prize for Arab Poetic Criticism.

Academic Influence
Dr. Al-Alaq’s significant contributions to poetry and criticism have inspired numerous studies and theses. Scholars have analyzed his poetic and critical output, focusing on topics such as modernity, poetic imagery, and stylistic innovations. He remains a towering figure in the study of Arabic modernist poetry.

Studies on Ali Jaafar Al-Alaq

Dr. Al-Alaq’s literary and critical work has been the subject of numerous studies, books, and university theses that explore various dimensions of his contributions. These works reflect his profound influence on contemporary Arabic poetry and criticism. Notable studies include:

• Techniques of Modernity in Contemporary Arabic Poetry: Ali Jafer Al-Alaq as a Model by Mohammed Hashish (Amman, 2021).
• The Awareness of Transcendence in Ali Jaafar Al-Alaq’s Experience by Osama Ghali (Tamouz Publishing, 2020).
• Ali Jaafar Al-Alaq: The Poetics of Modernity and Modernity of Poetry by Ibrahim Khalil (Amman, 2019).
• The Rhetoric of Poetic Brevity in the Works of Ali Jafer Al-Alaq by Mohammed Younis Al-Jreisy (Mosul, 2017).
• The Modernity of Poetic Style in Ali Jaafar Al-Alaq’s Poetry by Essam Shertah (Damascus, 2016).
• The Dramatic Glow in Ali Jaafar Al-Alaq’s Poetry: A Critical Approach by Dr. Mohamed Jawad Al-Badrawani and Dr. Abdul Ghaffar Abdul Jabbar (Amman, 2016).
• Ali Jaafar Al-Alaq: A Life in Poetry by Abdul Latif Al-Warari (Damascus, 2015).
• The Creative Text: Readings in the Experience of Ali Jaafar Al-Alaq by Dr. Mohammed Saber Obeid (Beirut, 2015).
• Ali Jaafar Al-Alaq: The Messenger of Beauty and Imagination by Dr. Mohammed Saber Obeid (Amman, 2014).
• The Unique Voice: Ali Jaafar Al-Alaq in His Poetic, Critical, and Humanistic Experience by Dr. Ahmed Afifi (Amman, 2011).
• Ali Jaafar Al-Alaq: Selected Poems and a Study by Dr. Manuela Cortes Garcia (Madrid, 2011).
• The Dualities of Water and Fire: An Applied Study in Ali Jaafar Al-Alaq’s Poetry by Dr. Ahmed Afifi and Dr. Soha El-Sattouhi (Cairo, 2010).

University Theses

Many academic researchers have conducted in-depth studies of Dr. Al-Alaq’s poetic and critical works in master’s and doctoral theses, addressing themes such as semiotics, environmental criticism, and poetic imagery:

• Representations of Nature in Al-Alaq’s Poetic Discourse: A Study in the Light of Environmental Literary Criticism by Banin Samir Issa (Master’s Thesis, University of Basra, 2024).
• Desert Imagery in Ali Jafer Al-Alaq’s Poetry by Saif Mohammed Jafer (Master’s Thesis, Al-Mustansiriya University, 2023).
• The Semiotic Study of Poetic Discourse in Al-Alaq’s Poetry by Nihil Suhail Krizem (Master’s Thesis, Islamic University of Gaza, 2022).
• The Rhetoric of Poetic Economy in Ali Jafer Al-Alaq’s Works by Mohammed Younis Al-Jreisy (Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Mosul, 2016).
• The City in Al-Alaq’s Poetry by Atheer Al-Jamili (Master’s Thesis, Al-Bayt University, Jordan, 2015).
• Rhythmic Studies in Ali Jaafar Al-Alaq’s Poetry by Khadija Adri Mohammed (Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Tikrit, 2013).

Dr. Ali Jafer Al-Alaq’s enduring influence is evident in his vast literary contributions, the depth of critical engagement with his works, and his ability to inspire scholarly discourse across generations. As a poet, critic, and academic, he continues to shape the contours of modern Arabic poetry and criticism.