Qustaki al-Himsi

Qustaki al-Himsi was a Syrian writer and poet of the Nahda movement, a prominent figure in the Arabic literature of the 19th and 20th centuries and one of the first reformers of the traditional Arabic poetry. He was born in Aleppo in 1858 to a wealthy and educated family. He received his education in Arabic and French literature in Aleppo and became a successful merchant. He traveled frequently to France, England, Italy, Egypt, Beirut and Constantinople, where he was exposed to the works of elite European poets and writers. He left his commercial activities in 1905 and devoted himself to literary and cultural pursuits. He was elected as a member of the Aleppo city council several times and once as the assistant to the head council. He was also appointed as a member of the Arab Scientific Academy in Damascus in 1922. He died in Aleppo in 1941. Al-Himsi was a pioneer of modern literary criticism in the Arab world. He wrote The Researcher's Source in the Science of Criticism, a three-volume work that introduced the principles and methods of European literary criticism to the Arab readers. He also wrote The Mirror of Souls, a novel that explored the psychological and moral aspects of human nature. He was a prolific poet who wrote in various forms and styles, ranging from classical to modern. He was influenced by the French Parnassian and Symbolist movements, as well as by the Arabic poetic heritage. He was known as the Voyager Poet due to his frequent travels and his cosmopolitan outlook. He was a leading figure of the Nahda movement, the Arabic renaissance that aimed to revive and modernize the Arabic culture and literature.