Etel Adnan, Lebanese-American poet, writer, and visual artist, passed away peacefully at the age of 96 in Paris from Saturday night to Sunday.
Etel Adnan was born in 1925 in Beirut, Lebanon. Adnan Rose "Lily" Lacorti's mother was a Greek Orthodox from Smyrna and her father, Assaf Kadri, was a high-ranking Ottoman officer from Sunni Muslims and Turkey born in Damascus, Ottoman Syria.
The Lebanese roots imprinted their identity in the Francophone cultural and intellectual world. She lived for many years in the United States, before settling in Paris, and embraced her intense creativity in the last phase.
Adnan has been named "the most celebrated and accomplished Arab-American author today" by the academic journal MELUS: Multiethnic Literature in the United States.
Besides her literary output, Adnan has created visual works in a variety of media, such as oil paintings, films, and textiles, which have been shown in galleries around the world.
Etel Adnan is living proof that age is just a number, as the Beirut-born American artist and poet have remained prolific, producing poetry, novels, and fierce political and personal paintings for more than seven decades, until her last breath.
From Modern Arabesque we present our deepest condolences to Etel's relatives and all lovers of Arab and contemporary art.
