Syrian poet, essayist and translator Ali Ahmad Said Esber, better known as Adonis or Adunis, will give a free lecture on poetry, life and art Friday afternoon. His paintings will also be on display from Saturday at Enclave Independent Bookstore.

Adonis, 88, is considered one of the most influential and dominant Arab poets of the modern era. He led a modernist revolution in the second half of the 20th century, exerting a seismic influence on Arabic poetry comparable to T.S. Eliot’s in the Anglophone world.

Adonis’ publications include 20 volumes of poetry and 13 of criticism. His dozen books of translation to Arabic include the poetry of Saint-John Perse and Yves Bonnefoy, and the first complete Arabic translation of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” (2002). His multi-volume anthology of Arabic poetry, covering almost two millennia of verse, has been in print since its publication in 1964.

A perennial contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature, Adonis has been described as the greatest living poet of the Arab world.

Adonis started making images using calligraphy, color and figurative gestures around the year 2002. His paintings have been exhibited in London and Abu Dhabi.

Lecture: 2:40 p.m., Sept. 14

Venue: Shenzhen Cultural Hall, 95 Yannan Road, Futian District (福田区燕南路95号深圳市文化馆)

Metro: Line 2 to Yannan Station (燕南站), Exit C

Exhibition: Sept. 15-Oct. 31

Venue: Enclave Independent Bookstore, 6/F, Block 423, Bagualing Industrial Zong, Futian District (福田区八卦岭工业区423栋6楼飞地书局)

Metro: Line 7 to Bagualing Staion (八卦岭站), Exit B

(SD News)