Muhydin Lazikani

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Muhydin Lazikani is a Syrian writer, poet, and thinker. Born in 1951 in Sarmada, Syria, he earned a BA in Arabic Literature from Aleppo University and an MA and PhD in Arabic literature from Alexandria University. He is the editor-in-chief of Al-Hod Hod, an online journal that publishes in five languages: Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Persian. He has published poetry collections, plays, and literary criticism.

Lazikani has worked as a journalist, columnist, and TV host. His column Tawaheen Al-Kalam won the Best Arabic Column Award in 1995. He hosted Lanterns in the Dark and A Date with the Future. He has taught as a visiting lecturer at various universities and written many books, including The Fathers of Arabic Modernism. He is known for his studies on the literature of secret Islamic movements, especially the Karmati Movement. He founded the International Centre for Arabic Manuscripts (ICAM) in London to protect Arabic manuscripts at risk.

He has lived in exile since 1976 and settled in London in 1979. Over the years he has worked for newspapers and magazines across the Arab world and Europe, and contributed to TV and radio programs. His poetry includes The Suicide of Job, A Song Outside the Flock, and Whoever is Sad, Follow Me, and he wrote the play Pigeons Do Not Like Vodka. His works have been translated into several languages, and he continues to promote Arabic heritage and modern Arabic literature.