The Canadian Arab community mourns the loss of its revered son, John Mikhail Asfour. Born in Lebanon in 1945 in the tiny west-Bekaa village of Aitaneat, John Asfour lost his sight at the age of 13 due to a grenade explosion during Lebanon’s 1958 civil war. He immigrated to Canada in 1968 without any English skills and went on to obtain a doctorate in English literature from McGill University and become a professor of literature and a prominent Canadian poet. John Asfour is the author of five volumes of poetry in English, three of which were translated into Arabic and one to French. In his most recent volume, Blindfold (2011), he investigated the ways in which disability influences our lives and is magnified in our minds. The volume was followed by two more books: Vancouver V6A: an anthology of Writings from the Downtown Eastside, and Metamorphosis of Ishtar by Nadine Ltaif, (translated from the French). He is the editor and translator of the landmark anthology, When the Words Burn: An Anthology of Modern Arabic Poetry. Nominated for multiple awards, John Asfour’s third book of poetry, One Fish from the Rooftop was the recipient of the F.G. Bressani Literary Prize. His fourth book, Fields of My Blood, received the Canada Council for the Arts Joseph Staufford award In addition to his academic and literary accomplishments, John Asfour was a community leader, a human rights advocate and a humanist. He was national president of the Canadian Arab Federation from 1996-2002, during which time he engaged in extensive consensus building among the Arab community’s many diversities. He was also a highly effective spokesman with the media and government officials for a community that often felt marginalized, at times victimized. John Asfour embraced Canadian values of diversity, respect and understanding; as an activist for fairness, justice and equality he found his rightful place in Canadian society. Through his poetry he brought to Canadians the sights, sounds, and flavours of his native Lebanese culture and Arab heritage. And to the Arab World he conveyed the Canadian values he vigorously promoted and defended. He was a consummate Canadian, the ideal Arab Canadian, and a true man of the people. He lived in Montreal and passed away from illness on Sunday Nov 2nd, 2014, leaving behind son Jonathan and daughter Michaela. May his memory be eternal. One Of Canadas Most Gifted Poets. - Montreal Gazette.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 11:56:29 +0000
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