Fresh faces usher in changes in Emirati poetic tradition

Dubai: Poetry has long been the dominant form of creative expression in the UAE. But, while the older, established poets continue to write in classical style, poetry is now undergoing a process of renewal as a new generation of poets abandon traditional forms and subject matter to create a new style and flavour.

They address contemporary life and current concerns ensuring that the Emirati poetic tradition continues and continues to be relevant to its readers.

Friday evening the Emirate Airline Festival of Literature (EAFL) brought together a collection of talent who represent the contemporary style.

Khulood Al Mu’alla, a relatively new voice now receiving international recognition, started the evening with her humble poem entitled The Unexceptional Poet.

The poem covered the insecurities and modesty of the narrator with line like, “Completely free, lest I be complete.” She described her feelings as “The soft flapping of a sparrow with one wing.” And finished with “Everything is burning and this body is still cold.”

Khalid Al Budoor, one of the most important names in the modern poetry movement of the UAE, recited his poem A Strange Building on a New Road. The melancholic outlook on life lead with “The heavy morning tea seems like the darkness behind the house.”

He then moved on to The Coast of 1984, a romance on the shores of Dubai. “Like the waves our colours change, we change but the sea remains the same. We can bury our dreams here, but we can also bury our sorrow here.”

Nujoom Al Ganem, an Emirati actress who is also a well established poet, brought a more serious air to the hall as she recited her latest poems on the promises false freedom and fear-mongering. “As the Earth opens its arms to take our dreams, nothing is for us, not even each other.” She talks about how the extinguished passion to resist and fight for true freedom, “It left me, and the teacher smiled approvingly, it left me empty, like a body whose soul has left.”

Da’en Shaheen, Editor-in-chief of Al Bayan Arabic Daily and author of a number of collections of poetry, essays and criticisms, recited his poems in the traditional style of the Zuheriayat. He started of with Abulhoul, a poem written for EAFL founder Isobel Abulhoul, then going on to dedicate subsequent poems to the poets in attendance. He closed the evening reciting lyrics of love songs he had written; You ask me why I love you, You are different, and Since I’ve known you.