SHARJAH: Under the patronage of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, the twentieth edition of the Sharjah Arabic Poetry Festival will begin next Monday, 8th January.

The 7-day event will be attended by more than 70 poets, critics and media figures representing Arab countries.

Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Owais, Chairman of the Sharjah Department of Culture, said, ‘The Sharjah Arabic Poetry Festival is a distinguished poetic platform in the Arab cultural arena, thanks to the patronage of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah. The successive editions established a diverse poetic scene, based on Arab poetic names that represented different generations, combined with creativity to produce authentic Arabic poetry.’

He pointed out that the festival will witness the presentation of the play ‘Al Heera Majlis,’ written by the Ruler of Sharjah, and produced by the Sharjah National Theatre.

The current edition will also witness the signing of new poetry collections publ
ished by the Department of Culture in Sharjah, and an event titled ‘The Development of the Language of Arabic Poetry’ discussed by 7 Arab critics, while the festival will move to the city of Khorfakkan as part of a poetry evening at the Khorfakkan Literary Council.

He highlighted that ‘Al Qawafi Award’ will continue its celebration of Arab poets, in recognition of the most prominent poems published in Al Qawafi magazine during the year 2023, as a poem was chosen from each issue of the monthly magazine, part of a poetry meeting at the Dr. Sultan Al Qasimi Centre, where the poets who won the award will be honoured by His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah.

Source: Emirates News Agency