News DeskAl Ain, UAE – Al Jahili Fort in Al Ain is set to welcome 74 poets and scholars from 17 to 23 November 2024 for the third edition of the ‘Poetry Nights: The Sung Poetry’ programme, part of the Al Ain Book Festival, organized by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC). This event will serve as a prominent cultural gathering, enhancing the ALC’s efforts to preserve local heritage.
With its two complementary themes, the programme aims to protect cultural heritage from erasure and establish frameworks to preserve it for future generations. The first theme pays tribute to renowned poets who passed away this year, while the second tracks the evolution of the poetic movement in the UAE and its role in commemorating oral heritage.
Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji, Executive Director of the ALC, stated, “The ‘Poetry Nights: The Sung Poetry’ programme transforms heritage preservation into an annual act that protects and immortalizes folk poetry, recognizing its value as a historical, geographical, and demographic record. The Centre is committed to protecting oral heritage, particularly folk poetry, by hosting prominent local poets and highlighting the legacies of renowned poetic figures.”
Al Tunaiji emphasized that the programme goes beyond celebrating poetry to documenting and preserving it. “Folk heritage owes a great deal to poetry; it reflects the people’s characteristics, customs, and lifestyles and records their lived experiences,” he said.
Over the course of a week, poets, researchers, and enthusiasts will convene in 21 sessions to discuss milestones in the documentation of folk poetry, from the oral phase to the paper documentation stage, audiovisual phase, and digital stage. The discussions will also explore the role of heritage institutions and personal initiatives in preserving folk poetry.
The programme simulates a traditional poetry majlis, featuring poets from various majlis throughout the UAE, or their descendants who continue the poetic legacy. It offers a platform for reciting poems in a fortress with over 130 years of history, highlighting the resilience of folk poetry and its role in protecting Emirati cultural identity.
Despite being in its third year, the programme has firmly established itself in the folk poetry scene as a highly anticipated annual event at the Al Ain Book Festival.
