Who is Etel Adnan? Google Doodle celebrates Lebanese poet and artist

Feminism champion worked in Paris, Beirut, and California
Etel Adnan was a celebrated writer and painter
Google Doodle
William Mata15 April 2024

Google is celebrating the career of poet and artist Etel Adnan by giving her the Doodle honour on Monday. 

The cartoon of the American-Lebanese creator at work is displayed on the homepage of the search engine for users in selected countries on April 15. 

Google presents its Doodle several times a year to honour the great and the good, often focusing on unsung heroes and heroines. Past people to feature include Lola Beltrán and Casimir Funk

“This Doodle celebrates Lebanese American poet and artist Etel Adnan, who is considered one of the most accomplished Arab American authors of her era,” a statement reads. 

April 15 has significance as it is the date she hosted her first solo exhibition in San Rafael, California, in 1955. 

The Doodle was drawn by contributor Olivia Huynh.

Who was Etel Adnan? 

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1925, Adnan had a diverse upbringing and moved to France aged 23 to study philosophy and the arts, before moving on to the University of California Berkeley, and Harvard. 

She eventually returned to Lebanon to serve as a journalist and editor for the newspapers Al Safa and L’Orient le Jour, where she helped develop a section dedicated to culture in Lebanon and the Middle East, Google states. 

Her art was inspired by her native country and also that of California, where she lived and worked from the 1980s before moving to Paris towards the end of her life. 

As well as her renowned visual art, she won acclaim for her novels and poems which explored identity, memory, feminism, and the human experience. 

Her written works include Moonshots (1966), Sitt Marie Rose (1978), Paris, When It’s Naked (1993), and Master of the Eclipse (2009). 

She died, aged 96, in 2021 in Paris. Her partner was fellow Lebanese-American artist Simone Fattal, who is still living and working in Paris aged 82. 

The Doodle appears in countries including the US, Lebanon, and Morocco as well as the UK. 

“She leaves behind a rich legacy of artistic and literary achievements that continue to capture and inspire audiences today,” Google added.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Sign up you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy notice .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in