Iraqi among 2008 best Arab poets

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi poet Yahya al-Samawi has been elected by the Poets Without Borders League as one of the best Arab poets for the year 2008 during a celebration held in the Jordanian capital Amman. “The poets are Majid al-Khattab from Syria, Yahya Samawi from Iraq, Hassan al-Maeini from Saudi Arabia, Hassan Talab from Egypt, Murad al-Amdouni from Tunisia, Ghaydaa al-Ayyoubi from Kuwait, Muhannad Sari from Jordan, Amal Awwad Radwan from Palestine, Ibrahim Mohamed Ibrahim from the United Arab Emirates, Ahmo al-Hassan al-Ahmadi from Morocco, Ahmed Weld Abdelqadir from Mauritania, and Silva Hanana from Lebanon,” according to a statement released by the league and received by IraqiNews.com. Established on October 25, 2007 in Amman, the Poets Without Borders League is currently holding its first celebration of the Day of Arab Poets. Born in 1949 in Samawa, al-Samawi graduated from the Faculty of Arts, al-Mustansiriya University. He worked in teaching, journalism and the media sector. His collection, Two Banks with No Bridge, is one of the first published translations of Australian poet Eva Sallis. SS (S)/SR 1