"Prince of poets" The list of finalists will be announced… and the first live episodes will be broadcast tomorrow

Abu Dhabi, December 4, 2017 – The Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority announced the list of 20 poets who qualified to participate in the 11th season of the Prince of Poets program, the first live episode of which will begin at 10 pm tomorrow, Thursday, on the “Abu Dhabi” and “Baynouna” channels.

This came during the press conference held by the Authority yesterday evening at Al Raha Beach Theater in Abu Dhabi, in the presence of a number of officials, writers, poets, critics, and those interested in Arabic poetry.

The list of qualified poets included: Al-Mukhtar Abdullah Salahi from Mauritania, Ahmed Imam, Ahmed Nanawi, Sari Alloush from Egypt, Asma Al-Hammadi, Abdul Rahman Al-Humairi from the Emirates, Jibril Adam Jibril from Chad, Hussein Ali Al Ammar from Saudi Arabia, Somaya Dweifi, and Najwa Obaidat from Algeria, Abdul Salam Saeed Abu Hajar from Libya, and Abdul Wahed Imran from Yemen, Othman Al-Hisho Qarabshi from Morocco, Ola Khadaro from Lebanon, Imad Abu Ahmed from Germany, Fares Saleh from Palestine, Muhammad Idris from Iraq, Muhammad Ziad Shoudab, Mai Issa Roumieh, and Yazan Issa from Syria.

His Excellency Major General Pilot Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Commander-in-Chief of Abu Dhabi Police and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority, congratulated the poets who qualified in a speech delivered on his behalf by Obaid Khalfan Al Mazrouei, Acting Executive Director of the Festivals and Events Sector at the Authority, wishing them success in their distinguished literary and poetic journey to obtain the title.

He stressed that the Prince of Poets program has firmly established its presence in the Arab cultural arena, thanks to the directives of the wise leadership, its interest in cultural events, and its great support for programs and projects aimed at preserving, preserving, and transmitting the cultural heritage to subsequent generations.

He said that the program was able, over the past 10 seasons, to restore eloquent Arabic poetry to its prestigious position in Arab culture, taking advantage of the opportunity provided by Abu Dhabi, the capital of poetry and culture, so that the Prince of Poets today became a true measure of the poeticism of its participants and the extent of their fandom, until it became the dream of poets who eagerly wait. The start of every season.

His Excellency pointed out that the Prince of Poets is proof that culture in the UAE is at the heart of official attention, and the program is a clear expression and example of the great roles played by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in order to foster poetic interaction and communication between peoples and cultures, and to enhance the Arab cultural movement.

He stressed that the program has succeeded since its launch in achieving a number of goals, namely affirming the cultural and human value of poetry, reviving interest in it, encouraging new poetic talents, and providing young poets with the opportunity to express their creativity.

For his part, Dr. Sultan Al Amimi, Acting Executive Director of the Poetry and Heritage Sector at the Authority, in his speech, praised the achievements achieved by the program since its launch in 2007.

He extended his greetings to the names that participated in the program’s judging committees throughout its seasons, including Dr. Abdul Malik Murtad, Dr. Salah Fadl, the artist Ghassan Massoud, Dr. Nayef Al-Rashdan, Dr. Ahmed Khreis, and Dr. Amani Fouad. He also welcomed the current season’s judging committee, which consists of Dr. Wahab Roumieh. Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Dr. Muhammad Hajo, and the advisory committee consisting of Dr. Muhammad Abu Al-Fadl Badran, Dr. Imad Khalaf, and the poet Raad Bandar.

He touched on the outcome of the interviews during the past ten seasons and the current season, during which the committee interviewed more than three thousand poets, and read and evaluated more than thirty-five thousand poems, including poems of screening, interviews, and competition on the Al Raha Beach stage.

He stated that the poets who submitted to the competition during previous seasons and the current season belong to 49 nationalities, 29 of which are non-Arab, indicating that these statistics highlight very important aspects of the competition, including that Arabic poetry is still alive and expanding geographically and strongly across various continents. The world, and that the competition achieved a number of its most important goals, including preserving the Arabic language, contributing to its spread and the spread of Arabic poetry everywhere.

He pointed out that the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, through the Poetry Academy, published more than 70 publications related to the competition, including more than 50 poetry collections by the competition’s poets, 3 of which won prizes in Arab competitions and festivals, in addition to 10 collections documenting the competition’s poems in its ten seasons. past.

For their part, the members of the program’s jury confirmed that the Prince of Poets program contributes to enhancing the status of eloquent poetry, and reflects a cultural vision concerned with Arabic poetry as a human value.

Dr. Ali bin Tamim, a member of the committee, praised what the program offers, stressing that Arabic poetry is the foundation of the Arabic language. He said that the program is a glimmer of hope for the development of Arabic poetry, the development of the Arabic language, and the restoration of respect for one of its largest and most important arts.

While Dr. Wahab Roumieh, a member of the committee, said that “Prince of Poets” is an expression of the UAE’s interest in the value of poetry and culture.

Dr. Muhammad Hajo described the Prince of Poets program as representing an aesthetic and artistic wedding, thanking the UAE for organizing it, while journalist Nishan, presenter of the eleventh season of the program, said that “Prince of Poets” is a cultural and literary platform that confirms that poetry is an integral part of our identity and heritage.

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