The Good Old Man: And Other Poems

The Good Old Man is a deeply moving debut poetry collection by Aladdin Mahmud Yaqub, blending personal elegy, spiritual reflection, and rich symbolic imagery rooted in both Arab and universal human experience. Written in classical Arabic poetic form and steeped in the tradition of Symbolism, the collection opens with a heartfelt tribute to the poet's father-a man of wisdom, kindness, and literary grace-and unfolds into lyrical meditations on exile, memory, faith, loss, and the haunting beauty of Baghdad.

From the poignant narrative of Marjanah, a destitute girl whose fleeting dream of abundance ends in stillness, to the apocalyptic vision of Ice and Fire, where divine judgment collides with human frailty, Yaqub's verses navigate the liminal spaces between reality and metaphor, earth and eternity. The volume also includes English translations and literary critiques of key poems by emerging scholars, offering readers a rare window into the interpretive depth of contemporary Arabic symbolic poetry.

Written in the diaspora yet echoing the soul of Iraq, The Good Old Man is a testament to the enduring power of language to mourn, remember, and transcend.