Friends of Jawdat Haydar

Friends, family and scholars gathered in December at the Lebanese American University in Beirut for a tribute to the late Lebanese poet Jawdat Haydar (’28), who published his first poem as a student at North Texas. Scholars spoke about Haydar’s passion for the environment and examined his style and literary contributions.

The Friends of Jawdat Haydar, which co-organized the event with LAU, was formed to promote understanding of Lebanese poetry across cultural boundaries. In 2007, the group launched the annual Jawdat R. Haydar Literary Award to encourage university students to conduct a critical analysis of the poet’s work.

Haydar published his last book of poetry in 2006 at the age of 101, shortly before his death.

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