About
Etel Adnan was born in Beirut in 1925 to a Greek Christian mother and a Syrian Muslim father. She grew up speaking Greek and Arabic, then studied philosophy at the Sorbonne, Berkeley, and Harvard. She taught philosophy in California before dedicating herself to painting and writing. Her novel 'Sitt Marie Rose' (1977) won the France-Pays Arabes Award. Her poetry collections, including 'Sea and Fog' (2012) and 'Time' (2019), have been honored. Her visual art has been exhibited in major institutions. She died in Paris in 2021.
* 1925-02-24 — † 2021-11-14
Major works
- Sitt Marie Rose (1977)novel
- Master of the Eclipse (2009)poetry
- Sea and Fog (2012)poetry
- Time (2019)poetry
Key milestones
- 1958Begins teaching philosophy at Dominican College in San Rafael, California.
- 2014Receives the Ordre de Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, one of France's highest cultural honors.
- 2021Dies in Paris, France, at the age of 96.
Themes
Exile and identityWar and politicsNature and landscapeLanguage and multilingualismFeminism
Sources: poetryfoundation.org · poets.org · id.loc.gov