Khalida Said

Khalida Said (Arabic: خاليدة سعيد; alternate spellings Khalida Saeed, Khalida Sa'id) is a Syrian-origin author and literary critic.^[1] She has taught and published extensively on Arabic literature and culture since 1957.^[2]

Early life and background

Said was born in Latakia, Syria.^[3] She studied arts, including apprenticing with the well-known artist Mahmoud Jalal.^[3]

She joined the Teachers’ Training Institute in Damascus^[3] and then went on to further studies of Arabic literature in Damascus followed by the Lebanese University in Beirut. She completed her PhD in Arabic literature at the Sorbonne.^[3]

Said met the writer Adonis, who she went on to marry, during her time at Teachers College. Adonis has said in an interview that he "never publish[ed] anything without her looking at it; he described their marriage as a "deep intellectual friendship."^[4]

Khalida joined the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) and was imprisoned because of her party activities.^[4]

Professional achievements

She moved to Beirut with Adonis in late 1956.^[3] Starting the following year, she published in the historic magazine Shi'r, initially under the pen name Khuzama Sabri and later under her own name.^[3] Topics of early interest for Said included the poetry of Nazik Al-Mala'ika, Fadwan Tuqan, Mohammad al-Maghut, Ounsi El Hage, and others.^[3] During this period she also taught in several Lebanese high schools and Lebanese University.^[2]

Among her lasting contributions to the field of Arab cultural studies was an encyclopedic work on "The Arab Theater Movement in Lebanon, Experiments and Horizons, 1960–1975."^[3][5] The literary magazine Al Jadid reports that it is "one of the most important—and perhaps the most important—reference book on the Lebanese theater movement."^[5]

In addition to original works, she has also published various translations.^[2]

The literary magazine Banipal dedicated an issue to Said in 2022. It included articles about her by Abdo Wazen, Akl Awit, and others.^[6]

Publications

• al-Bahth ‘An al-Juthour (The Quest for Roots), Beirut: Sh‘ir Magazine Press, 1960.^[3]
• Al-Harakat al-Masrahiyya fi Lubnan, Tajarab wa Afaq, 1960-1975 (The Arab Theater Movement in Lebanon, Experiments and Horizons, 1960–1975). Beirut: Theater Committee of Baalbek International Festivals, 1999.^[5]
• Yutubiya al-Madina al-Muthaqqafa (Utopia of the Cultured City)

See also

• Sh'ir
• Mawaqif