Coming To America Youssef

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Most foreign literary works that discuss America are filled with wonder and amazement of this beautiful land. Opportunity, riches, and much more are contained in this Land of Milk and Honey. These works mostly follow a similar narrative; a foreign country, where poverty reigns true, and then the compares the country to the US. In the 2015 movie Concussion, Dr. Bennett Omalu, portrayed by Will Smith, said that “growing up in Nigeria, he [I] always dreamed of coming to America. To us, Heaven was here, and America… America was here” (referring to levels of importance). America was and is and always will be the limit. The ultimate gift on God's Green Earth. Anything is possible in this land and America can do nothing to disappoint the rest of …show more content…

Youssef was an avid reader as a child. Writing his first poem at the age of 17, this opened the creative floodgates in Youssef’s mind. He would go on to attend the Teacher’s College at Baghdad University where he would study Arabic Literature. While at the college, Youssef became acquainted with poets of the Taf'ila (free verse) Movement of 1948-- poets like Badr Shakhir al Sayyab-- who would be a “major influence on his work” (http://www.humboldt.edu). This poetry movement was a stark contrast from the ages old methods of traditional Arabic verse. Youssef’s rebellious spirit introduced him to the anti-imperialist movement,where he became known as the “People's Poet”. In 1958, following the overthrow of the monarchy, Youssef published his first collection of poetry, titled “51 …show more content…

this was the first of a long string of exiles to which Youssef referred to as “A Life of Forced Departures” (http://users.humboldt.edu). After returning to Iraq, Youssef spent only a brief period working in his own country, as Minister of Culture from 1971-1978. As a result of his political affiliations, Youssef has not seen his country since. In 1969, he participated in the Palestinian revolution. Youssef was imprisoned for his highly critical poetry against the government in 1974. When released, he moved to the newly independent Algeria, where he worked as a high school teacher and literary journalist. He was forced to leave Iraq for good in 1978 when Saddam Hussein became dictator. Like most of Iraqi writers, educators and intellectuals, Youssef resisted pressure to join the Ba’ath party, choosing exile

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