John Mikhail Asfour

Born in Aitaneat, Lebanon in 1945, Asfour was blinded by a grenade during the civil war of 1958. Before emigrating to Canada at the age of 22, he had begun to publish poems and articles in Beirut newspapers and periodicals. rnrnHe authored 5 volumes of poetry in English, and two in Arabic. He selected, edited and translated into English the landmark anthology When the Words Burn: An Anthology of Modern Arabic Poetry, and co-authored with Alison Burch a volume of selected poems by Muhammad al-Maghut entitled Joy is not my Profession.rnrnIn 2005 and 2007, he organized and held two conferences on Arab Immigrants, their rights and duties for the Ministry of Immigration of Quebec.