Mohammed Zayed Al-Almai
Mohammed Zayed Al-Almai, (1957-2023), was a Saudi poet and writer who wrote for several Saudi and Arab newspapers. He held numerous poetry evenings and cultural seminars inside and outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Biography of Mohammed Al-Almai
Mohammed Zayed Al-Almai was born in Rijal Alma'a Governorate in Aseer southwest of Saudi Arabia. He graduated from the College of Teachers in Abha and obtained a bachelor's degree in agriculture from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah. He worked as a teacher for years and then moved into journalism. He has multiple poems and literary theses.
Cultural contribution
Mohammed Zayed Al-Almai assumed the position of editor-in-chief of the literary magazine Bayader, issued by the Abha Literary Club, and was one of its founders. He worked in the culture section of the newspaper Al-Bilad and was among the founding team of the newspaper Al-Watan, and headed its culture and opinion section. He also assumed the presidency of the Abha Literary Club, and was a member of the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts, and the Jeddah Literary Club.
He wrote cultural and intellectual articles in several newspapers, including Al-Bilad, Al-Watan, and the London-based Al-Hayat.
Poems
Mohammed Zayed Al-Almai wrote several poems, including "In the Wind of Childhood", "When I Was a Boy", "I Shall Die a Little", "Her Dates and Winter", "Oh This Old Child", "The Narcissus of Arrogance", "Let's Suppose", "You and My Solitude", and "The Bedouins".
He did not publish a poetry collection during his lifetime; his poems appeared in newspapers and literary magazines. He joined a group of poets in a collective collection titled "Poems from the Mountain" issued by the Abha Literary Club in the 1980s.
He passed away in Cairo in December 2023, and was buried in the city of Abha.
His Works
After the death of poet Mohammed Zayed Al-Almai, the Minister of Culture, Prince Badr Bin Abdullah Bin Farhan, instructed that his poems and works be compiled and published in a poetry collection under his name. In 2025, the Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission launched the poet's collection "You and My Solitude", which gathers his published texts over his career at the Jeddah Book Fair 2025.
Sources
Ministry of Media.
Ministry of Culture.
A Dictionary of Poets from the Pre-Islamic Era to 2002 - Volume 5. Kamal Al-Habouri. 2003