I am a Lebanese writer, poet, editor, translator and literary critic from the Zouk village in Kesrouan, Lebanon. He was one of the founders of the League of Ten, a prominent figure in the Arab Renaissance movement. His creative output is rich and multifaceted. Abu Shabakah was “impulsive and full of enthusiasm, very intolerant of his opinion and saying, and his poetry in particular, violent in response to his arguments, nervous in expression.. However, he was imminently calm and close to contentment, so he would return as he seemed to be a loyal and faithful friend, sound in heart, good in heart, on fathers of noses, and pride,
Born into a famous Lebanese family, Abu Shobeika became interested in poetry at an early age. He was the son of a merchant, as he was an orphan in his youth, an experience that distinguished his previous business. Elias worked as a teacher and translator in addition to publishing several volumes of poetry as a journalist writing for many Arab literary newspapers and magazines. A adherent of the Romantic school, Abu Shabakah believed in inspiration and denounced the conscious control of poetry. His poems are dark, deeply personal and often contain scriptural undertones that focus on his inner moral struggles. Some of Abu Shabakah's work was controversial in his time, especially his collection of poems, The Via' of Paradise, which was considered obscene due to its overt sexual content. The poet's obsession with the spiritual effects of the catastrophe that appears in his writings is attributed to the guilt caused by his sexual elopement with several women when he was married until his death from leukemia in 1947.
Abu Shabakah called for the renewal and modernization of Arabic literature, and inspired future generations of poets. His contributions to literature were celebrated by turning his home in his hometown of Zouk Mikael into a museum.