“Contemporary Gulf Poetry” Forum Discusses Modernity and Women in Poetry and Celebrates Bahraini Poet Ali Al-Sharqawi

Sakhir – University of Bahrain

November 22, 2022

The University of Bahrain hosted a critical forum titled “Contemporary Gulf Poetry… Horizons and Visions”, on Tuesday November 22, 2022, with the participation of a group of poets and professors specialized in criticism and literature, in collaboration and coordination with the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities.

The President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, welcomed the participants and lauded their distinguished scientific papers in Gulf poetry. He also praised celebration of the great Bahraini poet Ali Al-Sharqawi, for his poetic production spanning over nearly fifty years.

The forum, which was held in the hall of the E-Learning Center, consisted of two sessions. The first dealt with studies in contemporary Gulf poetry and was moderated by Dr. Ahmed Mohammad Wais. It contained three interventions, namely “Contemporary Gulf Poetry: Horizons and Visions” by Prof. Ibrahim Al-Saafin, Professor of Modern Literary Criticism and member of the Jordan Academy of Arabic Language, “Poetics of the Second Millennium: A Modern Restoration of Heritage” by Prof. Saad Al-Bazei, Professor of Comparative Literature at King Saud University, and “A Study of Women’s Poetics in the Gulf 1975-2020” by the writer Dr. Parwin Habib.

The second session, titled “Ali Al-Sharqawi’s Improvisation, Reading in His Poetry” focused on the Bahraini poet and playwright, Ali Al-Sharqawi, in an appreciation for his status and role in enriching the local and Gulf cultural scene. The session included three interventions, namely “Cultural intertextuality in Ali Al-Sharqawi’s Speech – An Approach to Selected Examples” by Dr. Diaa Al-Kaabi, Co-Professor of Narratives and Modern Literary Criticism and Head of the Department of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies, College of Arts, University of Bahrain, the paper of “Violation of Language and Hidden Metaphor in Poetical Works of Ali Al-Sharqawi” presented by Dr. Mai Al-Sada, Assistant Professor of Narratives and Modern Literary Criticism, Department of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies, College of Arts, University of Bahrain, and “Integration of the Poetic Text in the Experience of Ali Al-Sharqawi” presented by Dr. Khalifa bin Arabi, Assistant Professor of Modern Literature and Criticism, Department of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies, College of Arts, University of Bahrain.

The twelfth edition of the Gulf Poetry Forum will be held in the Kingdom of Bahrain as per the decision of Their Highnesses Ministers of Culture in the GCC countries. The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities will organize the forum in collaboration with the General Secretariat of the GCC countries and the University of Bahrain, with Gulf and Arab participation. The forum aims to enhance the status of the Arabic language and enhance the role of poetry in the Gulf national culture.

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