Shawki Bazea
A contemporary Lebanese poet, Shawki Bazea earned a degree in Arabic language and Literature in 1973. He worked as a teacher before joining the Ministry of Information, and also worked as a journalist specializing in culture at Al-Safir newspaper. He created programs for many government and private Lebanese radio stations and Lebanon TV, as well as being a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines. He is widely considered one of the poetry pioneers in the region, with dozens of poetry and prose books to his name that have been translated into many languages, as well as critical, literary, cultural and intellectual articles. Over his career, Bazea won many awards, most notably the Okaz Poet Award, the Al-Owais Cultural Award, and the Special Honor award from the Mahmoud Darwish Award for Culture and Creativity.