The Poet of Baghdad
A journey through Iraqi poet Nabeel’s story and a rare insight into the complexities of love and longing in exile.
In 1979, Nabeel Yasin fled his homeland of Iraq with his wife Nada and his three-year-old son. His crime was publishing poetry – work like The Poet Satirizes the King, that did not fit with the views of Saddam Hussein and his regime. Branded an ‘enemy of the state’, Nabeel faced imprisonment and likely death if he remained in Iraq.
After fleeing the country he continued to write in exile in the UK, his works smuggled back into Iraq where they became a symbol of resistance.
A deeply personal film about the experience of exile told through the haunting verse of Nabeel Yasin. Nabeel performs some of his works specifically for this film, taking us on a poetic journey through his story and giving a rare insight into the complexities of love and longing in exile.
This episode of Artscape can be seen from Friday, July 15, at the following times GMT: Friday: 1930; Saturday: 1430; Sunday: 0430; Monday: 0830. Click here for more on the series. |
