Discussing two honored poets’ careers at ‘Sharjah Nabati Poetry’

The symposium was held at the Cultural Palace in Sharjah, in the presence of His Excellency Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Owais, Chairman of the Department of Culture in Sharjah, Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Qaseer, Director of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Batti Al Mazloum, Director of the Al Hira Literary Council, and a large number of poets, intellectuals, academics and participants in the festival.

The two researchers reviewed the careers of Al Kutbi and Al Ghafli from their inception until today and highlighted their most prominent poetic stations that many traditional schools of poetry influenced.

The two critical papers dealt with the most prominent topics of the two honored poets and their diverse poetic themes that tend towards patriotism, love, wisdom, and contemplation of the human condition.

Dr. Fahd Al-Maamari began his talk about the upbringing of the poet Awad Balsabaa Al-Kutbi, noting that he was born in the city of Al Ain, “rich in Bedouin culture and considered home to many of the great poets of Nabati poetry in the Emirates,” saying that Awad Balsabaa is the son of the noble Bani Kitab tribe, which produced a number of poets, an extension of that series of poets who have added a lot to the world of Emirati Nabati poetry.

Al-Maamari pointed out the impact of the educational stages he went through at the age of seven, which made him able to read and write before turning to his practical career, which he began at the age of seventeen.

Al Maamari considered that Awad Al Kutbi’s movement between civilian and military work gained him a lot of knowledge and information, in addition to friends, noting that he was inclined towards poets due to his poetic nature, and revealed that Balsabaa met Mohammed bin Sultan Al Darmaki, where the two poets exchanged poems with each other, so that his circle of friendships expanded to include poets in the first place.

The researcher mentioned that Al Kutbi participated in many radio and television programs dedicated to Nabati poetry, and his beginning was in 1971 AD when he was twenty-one years old.

He explained that Al Kutbi's poetry was part of the traditional school of poetry that began early in the Emirates, and his poetry was influenced by the features of this school, which bears common characteristics among the poets of this period. He pointed out that writing popular songs strengthened his presence in the artistic arena, indicating that he has a collection of poems in which he collected a number of his poems that are full of popular vocabulary that confirms that he was and still is a son of his environment in poetry, and he called this collection "Raih Al-Oud".    

He revealed that Awad Balsabaa’s first poem was when he was thirteen years old. It was a love poem bursting with passionate emotion and local language, to confirm that he would compete with the great poets and have a place among them.

Then, researcher Ali Al Abdan presented a research paper on Zaal Al Ghafli, pointing out that the poet Al Ghafli is one of the poets of the third generation of the twentieth century, as he began his poetic career in the late sixties, and participated in and presented popular poetry forums and programs, and was one of the guests of the Northern Emirates Poets Council.

Al Abdan noted the poet's exploration of diverse themes, particularly focusing on patriotism and love poetry. He stated that these themes are significant in the traditions of popular poetry and reflect wisdom and contemplation of the human condition. The poet aims to simplify the language of poetry and ensure the flow of meanings while maintaining brevity that does not compromise its essence. Additionally, the poet employs various descriptions that are generally clear and do not require further explanation.

Al Abdan pointed out that the language of the poet Zaal bin Sarhan contains many words of the local dialect of Arabic origin, whose roots go back to classical Arabic. His styles and linguistic structures in his poems are a mixture of Bedouinism and civilization, which is a good thing in connecting Nabati poetry between the past and the present.

The researcher talked about the diversity of the meters of Al Ghafli’s poems, focusing on the fact that his poetry generally revolves between limited meters, which may be the most appropriate for his subjects and method of expression.