Living life through poetry
A new generation of Emirati poets is refreshing the region’s rich poetry tradition, creatively expressing the realities of life and reaching a global audience.
By Manar Al Hinai
Photographs by Katarina Premfors
The first poet whose name was recorded for history was a woman: Enheduanna, a priestess, princess, and author who lived in the 23rd century BCE in the Mesopotamian city-state of Ur. In addition to writing several works of literature, she wrote many hymns. Her most famous work, ‘Nin-me-sara’, was revered as a sacred scripture in Sumerian literature and was copied over hundreds of years by apprentice scribes. More than 100 clay tablet copies of the poem have been found, a testament to its popularity.
Poetry is the earliest form of Arabic literature and a vital means of communication and documentation. Poets were not just artists, they were historians, archivists, storytellers, and soothsayers. Hind bint al-Nu’man, Umama bint Kulaib, and Afira bint Abbad are pre-Islamic female poets whose poetry provides insight into the lives and culture of people in the past.
Poetry allowed Arabs to demonstrate their creative genius. Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, Prophet Mohammed’s cousin and son-in-law, is one of the most notable Arab poets. In this stanza, which he wrote for a friend, the lines can be read both horizontally and vertically:
In another, the lines were written using specific letters that allow the reader to read it without moving their lips.
Poetry even had a special place in the Holy Kaaba during the pre-Islamic period. The Mu’allaqat, or Hanging Odes, a collection of seven qasidahs (ceremonious poems) by Imru’ al-Qays, Tarafah, Zuhayr, Labid, Antarah ibn Shaddad, Amr ibn Kulthum, and Harith were said to have been written in gold on strips of Egyptian cotton and suspended from the walls of the Holy Kaaba. The odes enjoy a unique position in Arabic literature, and remain a reference for scholars and poets to this day.
Poetry was also celebrated through events that predate Islam. Arabs would gather each year in markets like Souk Okaz in Taif, Saudi Arabia, to sell merchandise and recite poetry. Here they would meet poets and hear tales from other tribes recited through verse. Today, social media has replaced the markets. Rupi Kaur, a Punjabi-Canadian poet, rose to fame by sharing her poetry through Instagram and Tumblr. Her writing, often accompanied by line drawings, tackles universal feminine issues such as body image and self-love, and taboo topics such as rape and menstruation. In the UK, young women aged 13 to 24 are now the biggest consumers of poetry and the market grew by some 48% in the five years to 2019, according to UK book sales monitor Nielsen BookScan. Most notable is that women are buying the works of female poets.
DR. AFRA ATIQ recites her poetry in English, Arabic and French, introducing Emirati culture to different audiences. SHAMMA AL BASTAKI (top), wants to cultivate a community of poets who see publishing as a tool rather than an end goal for sharing literature.
In the UAE, poetry is interwoven in the cultural fabric and female poets have long been at the forefront. Ousha bint Khalifa Al Suwaidi, who died in 2018 at the age of 98, influenced the development of Nabati—a form of vernacular Arabic poetry—especially among the youth. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, gave her the moniker Fatat Al Arab (Girl of the Arabs). Al Suwaidi made poetry exciting, engaging in poetry contests alongside some of the UAE’s greatest poets. Her work spanned love, religion, and pan-Arab issues, and her poems such as ‘Ya Kasheef Al Reem’ were sung by Emirati singers like Mehad Hamad.
Dr. Afra Atiq performs her own poems, not singing but speaking them. Spoken-word poets borrow elements of rap, jazz, hip hop, and word play. In a video of her performance at Sharjah’s Entrepreneurship Festival in 2017, Dr. Atiq stands in front of a microphone, her strong voice reflecting her passion and her recitation borrowing elements from rap, as when she speeds up certain verses to captivate and uplift the listener.
In her ‘Sheraa’ poem, she says:
When I tell them I am a poet
They look at me like a failed business venture
A “sorry we can’t meet with you”
“Call us when you have a stronger proposal”
Social media “has made the world of poets and writers accessible,” Dr. Atiq says. “In the case of Instagram, new genres and creative spaces have been added…and there’s so much inspiration on social media, so it helps with exploring new ways and approaches to your craft, fostering bonds and friendships with other poets, and exposing you to different perspectives on your work.” Dr. Atiq is frequently invited to cultural events to recite her poetry. “Just as my ancestors told their stories through poetry, I hope to do justice to that proud legacy,” she says. Her poetry tackles topics that matter to youth, such as motivation, hopes and dreams, love, and entrepreneurship.
“Spoken poetry is appealing to the youth because it’s a new tool of expression…it’s the rhythm, the topics, the fact that it’s exciting and relatable to them. Sometimes poetry is presented in a way that’s a little bit stagnant, and I think this is new, dynamic, and vibrant,” she adds. Though the Covid-19 pandemic was challenging—she had regularly performed live at schools—she pivoted to online talks and workshops to school students.
“In times of crisis, there’s a greater need for having creative outlets such as poetry, and I’m glad that schools were organising these poetry-related talks remotely,” she says. Dr. Atiq recites her poetry in English, Arabic and French, introducing Emirati culture to different audiences.
ALIA AL SHAMSI (above) highlights topics such as inclusion and diversity, love and heartbreak. AMAL AL SAHLAWI (below) shares her poetry on social media with over 100,000 followers.
Alia Al Shamsi, an Emirati-Italian author, poet, artist, and photographer, says it is vital that Emirati poetry is translated. “It will not only present our heritage to a global audience, but it also completes the narrative of world poetry,” she says.
Through her poetry, Al Shamsi highlights topics such as inclusion and diversity, love and heartbreak, and hopes to encourage others to do the same. At a time when emotional pressures are high as a result of the pandemic, her book The Ocean Sees Through My Soul, launched at the Sharjah International Book Fair in 2020, provides a beacon of hope. Al Shamsi shares her intimate feelings of heartbreak, powerlessness, self-reflection and redemption, reminding readers to own their vulnerability.
She believes it is important to share moments of strength as much as moments of absolute loss. “My poetry was my therapy. It spoke what I couldn’t say. It helped me through my own journey, and I hope this book urges others to do the same and to own their vulnerability as their greatest strength and what makes them truly human,” she says.
Similarly, Sharjah based Amal Al Sahlawi’s poetry is personal and relatable. Her poetry, which she shares on social media in the form of written posts in Arabic using a black font against a white background, to over 100,000 followers, gives voice to issues that many experience, such as feeling lost. Commenters often note how Al Sahlawi’s words express what they can’t. Through this interaction with readers, Al Sahlawi noticed that young readers seek poetry that represents their views of life and they like philosophical and existential topics.
Al Sahlawi published her first collection of Arabic poetry, Kan Alaya An Oajilak (I Had to Postpone You), at Sharjah’s International Book Fair last year. Her collection tackles issues relevant to many today, such as anxiety, life lessons, love, and loss. It quickly became popular with the youth. The title is borrowed from the first words of a poem within. It tackles the concept of postponement, how we shelve the things we want to focus on in exchange for those society deems we should. The price, Al Sahlawi notes, is that we leave behind the things that mean the most to us.
While the Internet is a boon for poets, how do we ensure their work lives on, as Enheduanna’s has? One solution lies with UAE-based JARA Collective, a small independent press with sister presses in New York, Bangalore, and Paris, and chapbooks—short books of 20-40 pages. Though the term chapbook was coined in the 19th century, the concept dates back to the 16th century when publishing became affordable. “We want to cultivate a chapbook culture in the UAE and a community of poets who see publishing as a tool rather than an end goal for sharing literature,” says Shamma Al Bastaki, a poet and artist from Dubai who co-founded JARA.
Al Bastaki has been writing poetry since she was seven. Her work explores topics such as modern sciences and ethnography. She has recited at reading events such as Rooftop Rhythms in the UAE and Busboys and Poets in Washington. In 2019, she received the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF) Creativity Award for her poetry collection House to House.
In the pipeline at JARA are three chapbooks by Emiratis, including one by Al Bastaki. JARA has published one book so far, by UAE-based Brazilian poet and filmmaker Arthur de Oliveira, with pieces in English, Portuguese, and Japanese—JARA values multilingualism and translations to better spread poetry.
“Everything we write,” Al Sahlawi says, “will compile to become a time capsule, history, and popular culture celebrated by future generations.”
