Blast kills Iraqi peace poet

[Barrett808]

Source: Associated Press

Blast kills Iraqi peace poet
By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD - The poet Rahim al-Maliki wrote about his dreams of Iraqi unity in a place where such appeals are drowned out by daily bombings. One of them took his life on Monday.

Al-Maliki — whose fame grew by hosting two shows on state-run television — was among 13 people killed in a suicide attack at a Baghdad hotel, where he was filming tribal leaders about their decision to join U.S.-led forces in the fight against factions linked to al-Qaida. Four of the tribal sheiks from the western Anbar province were among the victims.

In one of his shows, "The Guesthouses of our People," the 39-year-old al-Maliki visited Sunni and Shiite groups and used his poetry to open dialogue about ways to end Iraq's sectarian bloodshed. In Anbar, many tribal elders have agreed to help U.S.-Iraqi troops fight groups linked to al-Qaida in an alliance that the Pentagon considers an important blow to the insurgency.

Al-Maliki's other show on the state-run Iraqiya television was "Feelings," which examined love poetry written in the style he favored: the ordinary Iraqi dialect rather than classical Arabic.

Al-Maliki, a Shiite who is not related to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, received several honors in recent years, including the top prize for patriotic poetry in 2006, colleagues said.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070625/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_poet_killed

[xchrom]

1. peace be with mr al maliki.

One Moment in Annihilation's Waste,
One moment, of the Well of Life to taste--
The Stars are setting, and the Caravan
Starts for the dawn of Nothing--Oh, make haste!

 
omar khayyam

[annabanana]

2. Apparently a big batch of Sunni leaders also died in this particular

explosion.

Not a good thing.

[alstephenson]

3. Damn. Just damn.

I hate this fucking war.

[ananda]

4. That is so sad.

I wish I could just will a better world and no more war.