Riad al-Saleh al-Hussein (1954-1982) was a Syrian poet from the Aleppo province. As a result of a medical error, he suffered a loss of hearing and became mute at the age of 13, and he ended his formal schooling. He lived poorly, working various menial jobs, yet worked in Cinema Life Magazine in Damascus, and later for the Tishreen Daily until his early death after a brief arrest for unspecified reasons. He published three collections of poetry; the fourth appeared after his death. A complete edition of his works was published in Baghdad, edited by Emad Najjar. His poetry foresees the devastation in Syria today. It’s no surprise that he was detained by the authorities and tortured. Because of his popularity among the younger generation and his good relations with important representatives in the media and among Syrian cultural figures, he was granted release in less than a week. But the psychological scars penetrated deeper: he was ill, without access to meet expenses for his treatment, and he died only months after his release at the age of 28. He was considered a pioneer of prose poetry. Recently, on the fortieth anniversary of his passing, the Palestinian Writers and Journalists Union organized a symposium in commemoration of his poetic experience and in recognition of his importance as one of the prominent figures of the prose poem.