BIOGRAPHY

Issa Makhlouf is a Lebanese writer, poet and translator who lives and works in Paris. During the Lebanese civil war that began in 1975, Makhlouf fled to Caracas, Venezuela. Soon after, he returned to Paris where he obtained doctorate degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the Sorbonne University.  He later served as a professor at the ESIT (Sorbonne Nouvelle University - Paris III), and he was the News Director at Radio Orient in Paris. Makhlouf also served as a Special Advisor for cultural affairs at the United Nations in New York during the sixty-first session of the General Assembly (2006-2007).

He is an author with works in both poetry and prose. He published several literary works which includes “The Solitude of Gold,” “Mirages”, “A Letter to the Two Sisters,” “A City in the Sky” and “What Will Remain”. Additionally, he has conducted research books such as: "Beirut or the fascination of Death", "Oriental Dreams / Borges in the Labyrinths of One Thousand and One Nights " and "Paradise Apple".

Makhlouf has translated many literary and intellectual works from French and Spanish into Arabic, including works by Rene Char, Yves Bonnefoy, Antonin Artaud, Etel Adnan and Georges Shehadé to whom he translated a play entitled “The Brisbane Immigrant” which was presented at the Baalbek International Festivals in the summer of 2004.

Some of Makhlouf’s works have been translated into multiple languages.

Makhlouf has received several awards, including the French Max Jacob Literary Award in 2009 for his book A Letter to the Two Sisters.