Poet and literary critic Abdulaziz Aseer
'A liberated intellectual vision'
Poet and critic Abdulaziz Aseer dies at 80 following prolonged illness
BASRA—Abdulaziz Aseer, a poet and literary critic known for his deep understanding of Arabic poetic rhythm, died Tuesday at age 80 after a long struggle with illness, according to the Iraqi Writers’ Union.
Aseer, who studied under renowned poet Nazik Al-Malaika, was regarded as a standout scholar from his earliest days at the College of Arts. Associates say he embraced leftist thought but held no formal political affiliations, and he was known as a believer in Sufism.
Aseer launched his literary career in 1965, focusing on Arabic poetic meter. He published research in Al-Aqlam magazine the following year, quickly establishing himself as a leading authority on poetic structure. He authored 12 books on poetry, literary criticism and language, and joined the Iraqi Writers’ Union in 1984.
“We have lost a poet and critic who carried a liberated intellectual vision that transcended traditional ideologies,” said Furatt Saleh, president of the Writers’ Union, in a statement to 964media.
“He challenged dominant culture and the ruling authority at the time, raising philosophical and existential questions in his poetry that encouraged deep reflection,” Saleh added.
Aseer’s life was marked by hardships. In 1976, the Baath regime exiled him to Sulaymaniyah, where he spent five years and learned Kurdish. “He also escaped execution in 1991 after reciting a poem critical of the Baath regime at a literary festival, but circumstances prevented the sentence from being carried out,” Saleh said.
Born in 1945 in Basra’s Baradhi‘iyah area, Aseer attended Faisal I Primary School and later earned a degree in Arabic language from the College of Arts in 1970. He taught Arabic for 44 years, leaving a lasting influence on generations of students.
