Suad Al-Sabah

Suad Al-Sabah Poems

Suad Al-Sabah Biography

Suad Muhammad al-Sabah (also spelled Souad alSabah or Suʿad al-Sabah) was born in 1942 in Kuwait as a member of the ruling family. She graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences at Cairo University in 1973. She obtained a doctorate in economics from Sari Guilford University in the United Kingdom in 1981. She later returned to Kuwait and established the Suad alSabah Publishing and Distribution House. She has published several books of poetry and established a literary prize that carries her name. She also has written hundreds of economic and political essays as well as popular articles in several Arabic local and international newspapers and magazines. Her poetry has been translated into many languages, including English. Upon the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, alSabah campaigned against the war, writing newspaper articles and hosting radio programs, attempting to persuade Arab organizations to adopt firm stands against Iraq's aggression. In 1991 she published an anthology of ironic and bitter poetry on the Gulf War entitled Will You Let Me Love My Country? The poems delve into the spiritual crisis experienced by most Arab intellectuals in the new world order. Al-Sabah is the director of Kuwait Stock Exchange and a member of the Higher Council for Education, the executive committee of the World Muslim Women Organization for South East Asia, and the board of trustees and the executive committee of the Arab Intellect Forum. She is also a founding member of the Arab Cultural Establishment, the executive committee of the Arab Human Rights Organization, and the Arab Council for Childhood and Development. Her poetry has captured the attention of popular artists as well as university researchers in many countries. Her literary publications include Wamdatt Bakira (Early blinks) and Lahathat min Umri (Moments of my life, 1961). Her scientific works in English include Development Planning in an Oil Economy and the Role of the Woman (1983) and Kuwait: Anatomy of a Crisis Economy (1984).)

The Best Poem Of Suad Al-Sabah

Female 2000

I could have spent my time
- like all other women in the world -
In front of the mirror admiring my reflection
I could have sipped coffee
In the warmth of my bed
And chatted over the phone for hours and hours
Not feeling the passing of time

I could have busied myself donning make-up
Applying kohl
Being coquettish
Lying under the sun to tan my skin
Dancing on the waves like all nymphs

I could have busied myself
Putting on adornations of turquoise and rubies
Strutting like a queen

I could have done nothing
Read nothing
Written nothing
Devoted my time to seeking the limelight
To the latest fashions
To travelling the world

I could have avoided refusal
Avoided being full of rage,
Or shouting in the face of the tragedy ..

I could have swallowed the tears
Swallowed the repression
Grown resigned to imprisonment

I could have
Avoided the questions of History
And escaped the self torture

I could have avoided
The sighs of all the down-trodden people,
The cries of all the crushed people,
The revolt of the thousands who have died.
But I betrayed the law of the female
And chose to grapple with words!

Suad Al-Sabah Comments