NBOCLASSICISM 62(pp. 42, 394).M However, Rusaii evinces a remarkable ability to evolve
imagery of powerful impact, especially in his radical poems. In this as well
as in his outspoken and rebellious feelings against feudalism and the authori-
tarianism of hereditary power and in his praise of socialism (p. 408) he points
forward to the poetry of al-Jawahiri.Jawahiri
The development of political poetry of a very high quality in Iraq (which
may very well have its roots in a fairly continuous tradition of political verse")
must have contributed in no small measure to the appearance in that country
of Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri (1900— ), who is the angriest and most
committed of all neoclassical Arabic poets. But, more significantly, in many
ways Jawahiri represents a continuation and a further development of
Rusafi. Rusafi was aware of the affinity between himself and Jawahiri, and in
a poem addressed to him he acknowledged him as his successor.^97 In his
turn Jawahiri, who has written more than one poem on Rusafi, says in his
long poem composed on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of Rusafi's
death: 'Alike we are and your fate is close to mine.'^98
Jawahiri was born in Nejev to a family of some distinction, particularly
in the field of religion and traditional learning. He was sent to a traditional
school of Shi'i denomination and at home he received a solid grounding in the
Arabic language, philology, rhetoric and traditional Islamic sciences. The
great advantages of the poet's early background have been stressed by his
biographer who has tried to show how much the young Jawahiri had been
helped by the unbroken poetic tradition of Nejev and its lively atmosphere
at the time.^99 Jawahiri developed a passion for poetry early in Me which, we
are told, seems to have adversely affected the progress of his general academic
studies..His first job was in the field of education. He worked as a school
teacher in Baghdad in 1924, a post from which he was dismissed as a result
of his publication of a poem which the authorities found offensive. He was
subsequently reinstated, but in 1927 he resigned his post and was employed
in the royal court where he remained for three years, after which he resigned.
(Strangely enough, despite his criticism of conditions in Iraq under the mon-
archy Jawahiri managed to maintain good relations with the royal family.)
He then held several positions in the Ministry of Education, but on account of
opposition to government policy expressed in his outspoken poems, his
career there was punctuated with orders for his dismissal — later reversed
by his reinstatement — until he finally resigned in 1936. He then took up
journalism, a career in which he showed remarkable courage. He edited no
fewer than twelve newspapers, most of which for political reasons were