Saudi Arabian poet
Nimah Ismail Nawwab |
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| Born | Malaysia |
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| Nationality | Saudi Arabian |
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| Occupation(s) | Poet, photographer, activist |
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| Notable work | The Unfurling, Canvas of the Soul |
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Nimah Ismail Nawwab is a Saudi Arabian poet, activist, photographer and writer.[1]
Biography
Nimah Ismail Nawwab was born in Malaysia and is of Saudi Arabian descent. She comes from a line of Meccan scholars. [2] Her father is Ismail I. Nawwab, a former professor of linguistics at the University of Edinburgh.[3][4] Nawwab grew up speaking three languages and her father read the Quran, Arabic poetry, and the plays of William Shakespeare to her.[4] She previously worked at Aramco.[3]
She was inspired to write poetry after meeting Naomi Shihab Nye. Her first internationally published poem was on the murder of Palestinian child Muhammad al-Durrah.[5] Her earliest poetry focused on issues in Palestine and Iraq.[4] Nawwab writes in English and her poetry discusses youth issues, women's issues, sexism, religion, and Saudi culture and society.[6][7][4]
Her second book Canvas of the Soul: Mystic Poems from the Heartland of Arabia, is inspired by Sufism and features spiritual themes.[8][4] Her work has also been featured in Gathering the Tide: An Anthology of Contemporary Arabian Gulf Poetry.[9]
Her photography has been featured in Aramco World and Theodore Friend's book Woman, Man, and God in Modern Islam.[10] Nawwab is the first Saudi woman poet to be published in the United States.[2][6] She is also the first Saudi poet to publicly sign their work.[11][10]
