Abu Dhabi: More than 150 poets representing 27 countries will arrive in Abu Dhabi in mid-December to conduct interviews for the 7th season of the Prince of Poets competition, the Cultural Programmes and Heritage Festivals Committee announced on Wednesday.
The committee’s Poetry Academy received applications of those interested from the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Morocco, Yemen, Tunisia, Oman, Lebanon, Palestine, Libya, Mauritania, Eritrea, India, Iran, Germany, France, Belgium, Niger, Guinea and Mali.
The first episode of the programme will be aired during January 2017, marking the launch of the programme, which will last for ten weeks with the participation of 20 poets who will be selected from all applicants.
Eisa Saif Al Mazroui, director of Special Projects at the committee, said that the Prince of Poets programme has bagged a lot of cultural and media awards regionally and internationally and is one of the top TV shows which is inspired by cultural heritage.
The programme aims to restore the finest poetry and Arabic literature and revive the heritage as well as motivate the poetry movement in the modern Arabic poetry scene, Al Mazroui added.
Over the past six seasons, Prince of Poets has introduced to the world 165 poets between the ages of 18 and 45 and has become a major cultural event in the Arab region. The poets’ creative works have been documented by the Poetry Academy in special collections.
