Muscat: The Omani poet Zaher al Ghafri passed away at the age of 68 after a long struggle with illness, leaving behind a rich and diverse poetic legacy. He was born in 1956.
Zaher fell in love with poetry and literature since his childhood in the village of Surur in the Wilayat of Samail in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate.
His personality and poetry were influenced by the simple environment of his village, and his constant longing for his Omani roots. Al Ghafri moved to live in many Arab and European countries, which enriched his life and intellectual experience, and broadened his cultural horizons.
He studied philosophy at Mohammed V University in Rabat, which left a clear imprint on his critical thinking and poetic style.
Al Ghafri began his poetic career influenced by classical Arabic poetry, then moved on to experiment with modern poetic forms, especially the prose poem, in which he excelled.
His poetry is characterised by its diversity and linguistic richness, its use of powerful poetic images, and its expression of the concerns of contemporary man.
His most notable works include White Hooves, Silence Comes to Confess, Flowers in a Well, In Every Land a Well Dreams of a Garden, and One Life, Many Stairs.
Al-Ghafri's poetry is characterized by a variety of poetic rhythms, as he used a language that was simple and clear at the same time. He also used strong and innovative poetic images that reflect his artistic vision of life.
He was able to reconcile Arab heritage and modernity in his poetry, as he used elements of Arab heritage in a modern poetic form.
Al-Ghafri left a deep mark on the Arab poetic scene, and was more than just a poet.
He was a traveler, an artist, and a philosopher, and in his poetry he embodied the experience of living in a multicultural world, at once contradictory and beautiful. His poetry was a mirror swinging between nostalgia for the past and aspiration for the future, between pain and joy, and between privacy and universality.
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