His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, witnessed the launch of the 20th edition of the Sharjah Arabic Poetry Festival at the Cultural Palace, on Monday evening, January 8, 2024.
Organised by the Department of Culture, the week-long festival brings together over 70 poets, critics, and media personalities from various Arab nations. The poetry event will continue until January 14.
His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah watched a visual content that illuminated the lives of the honoured poets at the festival. The visual presentation highlighted their notable accomplishments, significant poetic works and relentless contributions to the realm of Arabic poetry, leading to their recognition with the esteemed Sharjah Award for Arabic Poetry.
The honoured poets commended the role of Sharjah and its Ruler in supporting poetry in the Arab world through poetry houses and poetry festivals, as well as celebrating and honouring poets.
Later, His Highness the Ruler Sharjah honoured the festival’s two personalities who won the 12th edition of the Sharjah Award for Arabic Poetry, namely Emirati poet Ali Al Shaali and Iraqi poet Arif Al Saadi who were recognised for their distinguished contributions to the Arab poetry scene.
Sheikh Sultan also honoured the winners of the Sharjah Award for Arabic Poetry Criticism in its third edition, where the first place was won by the Tunisian critic Moncef Ouhaibi for his research “The Structure of Poetic Discourse in Contemporary Arabic Poetry between Allegorical and Metaphorical”.
Meanwhile, the second place was won by the Moroccan critic Anouar Benyaich for his research “The Structure of Tandem & Contrast in Contemporary Arabic Poetry: a Study in the Poetry of Parallelism”. The third place was won by the Moroccan critic Hussein Benbada for his research “The Structure of Discourse in Experimental Arabic Poetry”.
The 7-day Sharjah Arabic Poetry Festival features 70 poets, critics and media professionals from various Arab countries. The festival encompasses a range of distinguished events, including poetry evenings and sessions.
The festival will feature the signing of new poetry collections published by the Sharjah Department of Culture in Sharjah. Additionally, an intellectual symposium titled “The Development of the Language of Arabic Poetry” will take place, moderated by seven Arab critics.
On its seventh day, the festival will relocate to Khorfakkan, culminating in a poetry evening hosted by the Khorfakkan Literary Council.
