To mark the occasion of World Poetry Day, the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, part of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, organised a virtual poetry evening to announce the launch of a new Arabic poetry series entitled ‘Oyoon Al-She’er Al-Arabi’ (Eyes of Arab Poetry), which will include masterpieces from the pre-Islamic era to the present day. The new series will deal with topics such as glory, harmony, pride, loyalty, night, rain, ruins, tolerance and other topics, and will be released in stages, starting with 30subjects that will be published in 30 books during the first phase, with the aim of publishing a total of 100 books.
The speakers during the poetry evening, which was held on 21 March, wereDr. Dheya Al Kaabi, Professor of Narrative and Modern Literary Criticism and Narratology at the University of Bahrain’s College of Arts, Emirati poet Amal Alsahlawi, Dr. Yousef Hamdan, Professor of Modern Literary Criticism in the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at the University of Jordan, poet and academic Dr. Maha Al-Atoum, Professor of Literature and Modern Criticism in the Division of Arabic Language at the University of Jordan’s Language Center, and contemporary Egyptian poet Dr. Alaa Janab, Professor of Literature and Criticism at Al-Azhar University at the Faculty of Arabic Language in the Department of Arts.The session was moderated by Bahraini poet and presenter, Dr. Parween Habib.
His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, said: “Poetry is considered a basic literary component of Arab culture, as Arabs see it as a repository of wisdom and a tool to express their pain and hope. In the pre-Islamic era, Arabs used to celebrate their own poets, as they become the spokespersons of their tribes, who documented the achievements of their people and defended those tribes if and when required. Arabic culture is one of few in the world that has preserved its poetic heritage throughout the ages,and we can clearly see the presence of poetry in almost every Arab environment. And this is what inspired us to create this series, which is being published by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre in conjunction with World Poetry Day, which falls on 21 March each year, with the objective of educating Arab readers about the mysteries of their own poetic heritage, as well as celebrating the beauty of poetry and highlighting the changes that have taken place over the ages.”
He added: “This series is being prepared by eminent professors of Arabic literature, who will be conducting extensive research for a variety of literary and heritage resource books, and we will do our utmost to ensure the novelty and originality of their contents. The series will be issued in the form of pocket-books to be accessible to every reader, supported with audio, digital, and other accompanying activities.”
