A collection of his poems, titled ‘Songs of Africa’, explored the impact of colonialism on the collective African identity DUBAI: Google marked on Wednesday what would have been Muhammad al-Fayturi’s 85th birthday, with one of its doodles. Al-Fayturi, best known for his poetry, was also an ambassador of Libya in several countries, including Lebanon and Morocco. A collection of his poems, titled ‘Songs of Africa’, explored the impact of colonialism on the collective African identity. Published in 1956, it also encouraged his readership to embrace their cultural roots. Al-Fayturi was born in 1936 in Al Geneina, Sudan to a Libyan father and an Egyptian Mother. He moved to Egypt with his family when he was three years old, and grew up in the city of Alexandria. At just 13, al-Fayturi began writing classical Arabic poetry, and later became one of the major figures of contemporary Arabic poetry. In addition to studying Islamic sciences, philosophy and history at Al-Azhar University until 1953, he studied literature at Cairo University and joined the Institute of Political Science in Cairo. The acclaimed poet later worked as a journalist and editor for an Egyptian and Sudanese newspaper after graduating at the age of 17. Al-Fayturi was a member of the Arab Writers union and served as an expert for the Arab League, a role he fulfilled between 1968 and 1970. The prominent literary figure published several plays, books, and other poetry collections as he lived and worked across North Africa. However, his career climaxed when he released his last two books in 2005, almost 50 years after he released his first collection. He died in the Moroccan capital Rabat in 2015.