Veteran Omani poet Zahir Al Ghafri passed away on Saturday, September 21, at the age of 68, after a long battle with illness at his residence in Sweden.

He left behind 12 poetry collections, some of which have been translated into foreign languages. Al Ghafri was admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital in Malmö, Sweden, last week, as his health deteriorated due to complications from cirrhosis.

Born in 1956 in Oman, Al Ghafri pursued his university education in the Department of Philosophy at Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco. Throughout his life, the poet traveled extensively, spending time in Iraq, Morocco, Paris, London, and Sweden. Despite his travels, he remained deeply connected to his roots, frequently returning to his homeland in the village of Surur in the Sultanate of Oman.

His travels allowed him to gather a rich intellectual output and experience, embarking on a long journey of exploration and immersion in the “diversity of places.” Readers of his works can sense, behind the lines, the beauty of the locales that inspired and shaped his works.

His works include collections such as White Hooves, Silence Comes to Confess, Flowers in a Well, In Every Land a Well Dreams of a Garden, and Makers of the Heights. His legacy left a significant mark on Arabic literature. Several of his poems have been translated into languages such as Spanish, English, German, Swedish, Persian, Hindi, and Chinese, further expanding his global literary influence.