"Sharjah Book 2025" Celebrates international poetry…and"Poetry cafe" Hosts evenings in 8 languages

Sharjah, 24th October / WAM / As part of the cultural program activities of the 44th session of the Sharjah International Book Fair, the Poetry Café is organizing a series of poetry evenings in 8 different languages, including Arabic, Greek, English, Urdu, Punjabi, Malayalam, Russian, and Tagalog, with the aim of enriching the experience of visitors of all nationalities and promoting cultural dialogue.

The evenings will host a group of Arab poets, including the poet Saeed Al Mane from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Qatari poet Hamad Al-Baridi. From Greece, the guest of honor for the 44th session of the exhibition is the Greek poet, translator and publisher Danae Siosio, whose works have been translated into more than 15 languages. In English, the Canadian poet Sarah Ali will present a poetry evening in which she recites a collection of her poems, both written and improvised.

Among the pioneers of poetry in the Urdu language participating in the poetry evenings is Dr. Zubair Farooq, the first Emirati poet to write in the Urdu language and to have published more than 40 collections of poetry and Urdu poetry. He also writes poetry in Arabic and English. From Pakistan, Ata al-Haqq Qasimi, a Pakistani journalist, playwright, and poet who writes in the Urdu language, joins the “Poetry Café” from Pakistan, along with his compatriot, Dr. Inam al-Haq Javed.

The “Poetry Café” will feature the Indian poet Syed Ijaz al-Din Shah, in addition to Dr. Tahir Shahir from Pakistan, and the stars of Urdu poetry will be joined by the Indian actor, comedian, and writer, Rehman Khan, who participated in acting, writing, and directing plays in Hindi, English, and Urdu, along with the American poet Khaled Irfan.

With the aesthetics of the Punjabi language, the Cultural Café welcomes the Pakistani poet Syed Sulaiman, who is considered one of the most prominent literary icons influencing the Pakistani cultural scene. It also highlights poetry evenings in the Urdu language with the poet Surender Sharma, an Indian writer and comic artist famous for his comedic drawings.

Also participating in Malayalam is the Indian poet, critic, translator and cultural activist K. Satchidanandan, who writes in Malayalam and English and has published more than 30 collections of poetry that have been translated into more than 17 languages, is one of the pioneers of Russian poetry following in the footsteps of the pioneer of romantic Russian poetry, Alexander Pushkin. The “Poetry Café” welcomes the Russian poet and novelist Maxim Zamchev, editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Literaturnaya Gazeta,” the oldest Russian literary newspaper. He also introduces his compatriot, the poet. Russian writer Mikhail Levantovsky held poetry evenings at the Poetry Café.

In its poetry evenings, the Poetry Café highlights the structure of Tagalog poetry, Tanaga quatrains, and other poetic traditions with the Filipino poet, novelist, and playwright Luna Sicat Cleto.

The exhibition, organized by the Sharjah Book Authority under the slogan “Between You and the Book,” during the period from 5 to 16 November next, brings together 118 countries from around the world represented by more than 2,350 publishers and exhibitors presenting millions of titles and works in various languages ​​of the world, and hosts more than 250 creators, writers, and thinkers from 66 Arab and foreign countries presenting more than 1,200 cultural, creative, and artistic events.

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