Mahjar poets

School of Arabic writers from Syria and Lebanon who in the early 20th century settled in North and South America. The most important group was active in New York 1912–30, led by the Lebanese authors Khalil Gibran and Mikhail Naimy (1889–1988).

Mahjar poetry was influential in the Arab world between world wars I and II: it emphasized the loneliness and alienation felt by émigré writers, and introduced new ranges of poetic language and imagery into modern Arabic. Two major poets of the Mahjar school were Ilya Abu Madi (1890–1957) and Nasib 'Arida (1887–1946).