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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 October 2023
BARBARA MICHALAK-PIKULSKA
Karīm Maʿtūq and Other Winners of Amīr ash-shuʿarāʾ (Prince of Poets) First Contest
Abstract
In 2007, the Abu Dhabi Festival and Heritage and Culture Program Commission (Lajnat Idārat al-Mahrajānāt wa al-Barāmij ath-Thaqāfiyya wa at-Turāthiyya) set before itself the goal of promoting Arabic poetry, which has lied at the heart of the Arab culture for centuries. The resulting annual media event is presented by the Abu Dhabi television channel under the name Amīr ash-shuʿarāʾ (Prince of Poets). The program, which similarly to the shows X-Factor or Idol belongs to the talent show genre, has already promoted dozens of outstanding poets. The jury together with the audience choose the best poet, who receives the title of Amīr ash-shuʿarāʾ (Prince of Poets) in honor of one of the most eminent Egyptian poets, Aḥmad Shawqī.
I would like to present here the winner of the first season and of the title Amīr ash-shuʿarāʾ (Prince of Poets), the Emirati poet Karīm Maʿtūq (b. 1963). He has published the following volumes of poetry: Manāhil, Ṭufūla, Hadhā anā, Aʿṣāb as-sukkar, and the novel Ḥadath fī Isṭanbūl. He actively participates in the cultural life of the Emirates, publishing widely in literary newspapers and magazines. Undoubtedly, he is one of those modern Emirati poets who with their works have left a lasting mark on contemporary Arabic poetry.
The Mauritanian Muḥammad Wuld aṭ-Ṭālib (b. 1968), a teacher who studied Arabic literature at university, took second place in the Amīr ashshu ʿarāʾ competition. After winning an award in a poetry contest in Libya, he published a book of poetry Al-Layl wa-l-arṣifa (2013). Jāsim Muḥammad al-Ṣaḥīḥ from Saudi Arabia came in third place in the Abu Dhabi competition. He is a mechanical engineer by profession and works for the Saudi company Aramco. Apart from the podium place in the program Amīr ash-shuʿarāʾ, he was also awarded in Kuwait by the ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Al-Babtain Foundation. He has published a book of poetry Aʿshāsh al-malāʾika (Angels’ Nests).
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