Muhammad Ali Chamseddine

In support of the Palestinian cause, Chamseddine announced his withdrawal from the "Sheikh Zayed Book Award" in 2020 to protest against the normalization agreement between the Emirates and the Zionist Israeli regime. He wrote on his Facebook account that "The withdrawal was from my book (The Last Thing Left by Wilds), issued by the Arab Renaissance House in 2020. The house had nominated the book for this award with my authorization, before the announcement of the American-Israeli agreement, which was a sufficient and compelling reason for me to take this position to withdraw the nomination and authorizations with him."

In 2015, he won the "Sharqa" award for Arabic poetry.

Two years after introducing his first collection of poems, Chamseddine published ghym li'ahlam almalik almakhlooa. He published a book, a collection of poems or stories for children. During his career, Chamseddine wrote about 19 poetry collections including the last one “Alnaziloon ‘an Lrih “introduced in 2014. Chamseddine had different poems on different topics having most of his poets influenced by Arabs and Muslim history. In addition, Chamseddine has written three books as well as critical and literary articles on poetry, literature, and thoughts in newspapers and magazines.

In 2006, he was honored by “Diwan Al’arabi’’, where he was awarded the shield of the magazine in Cairo in recognition of his efforts and poetic generosity.

Later in 2003, Chamseddine issued his book of Malik Malikss, at the end of which there are eight poems under the title "Shiraziyat" that are poems dedicated to Hafiz al-Shirazi and was issued by The Union of Lebanese Arab Writers on 1 May 2005. The "Shiraziyat" included 8 poetry compositions, which are ((Al-Hirah)), ((Shiraz)), ((Circumambulation around the waist)), ((My heart is far)), ((The Sign of Magic)), ((Modify the drink)), ((Wandering)) and ((Before the world shattered)).

Several Arab universities taught his poetry including the Lebanese University. Numerous master's and doctoral theses were written about him. A Spanish Orientalist, Dr. Pedro Martin, wrote a study about him in a booklet called “Al Manara Publishing 77 Madrid “. The series Modern Literature also known as “Al Reef Cultural Movement“ included a book named “Studying the Poetic Language of Mohammad Shams Al Din” published by Dr. Ali Nahdi Zaitoun in Lebanon in 1996.

Before writing his first collection of poems he used to write hundreds of poems and hide them as he was anxious and suspicious. In 1974, Chamseddine introduced his first collection of poems ’’Qasa’id moharaba 'ila habibati asya’’ in “Al-Marbad” the fourth Arabic poetry in Basra, Iraq. Several famous Arabic poets attended the event including Nizar Qabbani, Mahmoud Darwish, Saadi Youssef, and Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri. His poetry collection was considered one of the best in the festival as it caught the attention of Suhail Idris, who was an attendant that helped him in printing his first edition in “Dar Al Adab” Beirut. This collection ’’Qasa’id moharaba 'ila habibati asya'' was very successful and renowned.

Muhammad Ali Chamseddine (15 October 1942 – 11 September 2022; in Arabic: محمد علي شمس الدين) was a Lebanese poet and writer. His work was influenced by the poet Khwāja Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī (1315–1390). Chamseddine is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern poetry in the Arab world since 1973. He participated in various Arab poetry festivals and was a member of the administrative board of the Arab Writer's Union. Chamseddine has a strong spiritual relationship with poetry and his works are recognized worldwide.

Muhammad Ali Chamseddine was born in 1942 in Beit Yahoun, a village located in Bint Jbeil District in Nabatieh Governorate in Lebanon. He was raised in a Muslim family and used to listen to his grandparent's voices reciting Qur'an verses and Karbala'iyat which are poetic verses related to Ashura. Numerous poets inspired Chamseddine in his childhood including Al ma'arri, Abū Hayyān al-Tawhīdī, and Albert Camus. He read various poetry books that were found in his grandparent's library, which inspired him to start writing his own short stories at the age of twelve. Then, he began writing short sayings and quotes and finally wrote his first poem at the age of fourteen. He would memorize French poetry on his way to Forn El Chebbak School where he studied and was the only one who passed his class and earned the French Brevet in 1985.