Despite the obvious importance of intertextuality to Arabic poetry, its diverse Arabic manifestations have not been studied systematically or fully accounted for in the dominant western theories of intertextuality (Kristeva, Riffaterre, Genette, Bloom). This paper explores one particularly complex manipulation of intertextuality, the 1963 poem, “Mawt al-Mutanabbi” (“The Death of al-Mutanabbi”) by the Iraqi poet, ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayati (1926-1999). Suggestive title aside, this poem does not conform to a simplistic Bloomian, or indeed other, model of intertextuality. This paper explores the unique workings of this dynamic case of poetic intertextuality and demonstrates how at the hands of al-Bayati, the poem becomes a transformative intertextual laboratory that enables the poet to articulate a new poetics that is in keeping with his declared Marxist ideology. Inevitably, the figure of al-Mutanabbi summons up for the poet and his audience the esteemed classical poetic tradition, as well as the colorful personality of a fiercely individualistic ersatz revolutionary. But for al-Bayati, it also evokes the existential dilemma of the paid panegyrist forced to ignore the corruption and venality of his patrons to produce, regardless of his true feelings, the conventionally required praise. An object of reverence and love, al-Mutanabbi is thus for al-Bayati also a symbol of the debasement of what he sees as the true role of the poet in society. Over the course of this poem, by means of a complex, polyvocal mobilization of al-Mutanabbi, his poetry, and details of his personal history and his relationship to those in power, al-Bayati negotiates for himself and his fellow modern poets a new poetic identity based on a Marxist reinterpretation of the Tradition. Framed in a scathing, lyrical, indictment of the corruption of the powerful and the sycophancy of past poets, this poem’s intertextual engagement elaborates a way to salvage the poet’s emotional connection to the tradition while affirming him in his rightful role as spokesperson of the people and defender of their rights. It is only through a dynamic use of unique intertextual practices that al-Bayati is able to accomplish this vital emotional reconciliation and political empowerment. This paper examines these practices, which not only shed light on the situation of the modern Arab committed poet, but also suggest a new theoretical model of intertextuality to be integrated into the currently dominant roster of theories.