One of the greatest Arab poets. Al Jawahiri, the poet was talented, passionate and controversial: the poetry of the 'Singer for the Sunlight' for which he was known reflected his country's turbulent history. He published his first poems in 1921, followed by a collection in 1923 and 1935. A further seven volumes of his work were published between 1973 and 1980. The style of his poetry was traditional, sticking to the classical buhour metre of Arabic poetry; but he varied and enriched the themes, covering love, politics, nature, social events, history and emotions. Al Jawahiri was introduced to King Faisal of Saudi Arabia who made him a courtier and the poet was called 'my son' by Faisal. His writings were critical of the monarchy, and its British backers. He led a delegation of Iraqi MPs to London in 1948. Al Jawahiri edited the Syrian paper Al Jundi. He was elected chairman of the writers' union in 1950s, after the monarchy was overthrown in Iraq. Al Jawahiri went into exile in Prague from 1961 to 1968. Al Jawahiri, the jeweller and wizard of words, finally fled his homeland in 1979 and went to and died in Damascus. Muhammad Mahdi Ibn Al Hussain Ibn Abd Ali Ibn Sahib Al Jawahari was born in Najaf, Iraq. The family name, Al Jawahiri (the jeweller) was derived from the title of a book, The Jewels of Words, written by his great grandfather.