JAWAHIRI 63short-lived. In 1937 he was jailed for publishing a critical article. As a result
of continued harrassment by the police, Jawahiri left for Syria where he lived
in self-inflicted exile from 1956 to 1958. Jawahiri, who had never tired of
attacking the policy of Nuri al-Sa'Id, naturally welcomed the Iraqi revolu-
tion and the end of monarchy in 1958. The last of his newspapers, however,
the leftist Al-Ra'y al-'Am (Public Opinion), was noted for its bitter opposition
to Kasim's authoritarian rule and was forced to dose down, upon which
Jawahiri left Iraq. In 1961 he went to Prague, and returned only in 1968 at the
invitation of the Minister of the Interior and was ofifered an adequate monthly
pension.
Jawahiri has published a great deal.^10 ° His first volume of verse, which con-
tains mainly 'imitations' of renowned poets, past and present, appeared in
Baghdad as early as 1922. The second was published in 1928 andincluded
some poems from the earlier volume, but as the poet points out in the preface
it contains mainly nationalist and descriptive verse. The third collection,
Diwan at- Jawahiri, which appeared in Nejev in 193 5, is marked by the domin-
ance of poems of social and political protest in which the poet's revolutionary
stance is pronounced. The next edition of Diwan was published in three
volumes (1949, 1950 and 1953), with a most interesting preface to the first
volume, together with the following dedication:
To those who have deliberately chosen the path of freedom, light and liber-
ation, and who have been steadfast in their choice, eagerly enduring all
the suffering and deprivation which it entails. To the victims of injustice,
malice and vengeance. To those who could have been otherwise had they so
wished.Another edition of Diwan of which only the first volume was published ap-
peared in Damascus in 1957.1n 1959 a volume of poems written to celebrate
the achievement of the Iraqi revolution in its first year appeared in Nejev.
A further edition of Diwan, described as the fifth edition, came out in Baghdad
in two volumes (1960, 1961), but the third volume never saw the light of day
as the poet soon emigrated to Prague. A collection entitled Exile Post was
published in Prague in 1965. The Diwan was published again in Sidon( 1967)
and Beirut (1968-70), but none of the different editions of the Diwan are
identical in their content or in the order in which the poems are arranged,
which is a cause of much confusion. In 1969 Return Post was published, to be
followed in 1970 by a long poem inspired by the restoration of peace with the
Kurds. Finally, the volume entitled To Sleeplessness came out in Baghdad in
1971, comprising mainly the poet's reflections on the theme of exile.
In many respects Jawahiri's early exposure to the classical Arabic literary