Universities to host Dubai International Poetry Festival 2009

Ali Al Shaali, CEO of Dubai International Poetry Festival, said:

"One of our objectives is to extend the calendar of our activities to multiple locations, so that the public can easily access the elite world of poets who enrich reality with their unique vision and artistic perspective of human values."

Al Shaali added, "Poets visiting universities will enrich the students' perception of local, Arabic and international poetry. The sessions will be simultaneously held at several universities. The beauty of this outreach is that poetry does not remain restricted to its writer. It will be easily accessible to everyone and especially to students."

Every morning, poetry reading sessions will be held at several universities including Zayed University in Dubai, Emirates University and Ajman University.

"Selected poets such as Ibrahim Mohamed Ibrahim and Nujum Al Ghanim from the UAE, Al Munsif Al Mizghanni and Iman Abduljalil from Tunisia, Khairy Mansour from Jordan, Abdullah Al Uraymi from Oman, and Elisa Biagini from Italy will lead these sessions," Al Shaali said.

"These readings will match the spirit and tempo of the Arab world's rich legacy of poetry recitals at cultural and poetry forums. Poetry is an art that is vanishing as more popular forms of entertainment emerge and this, in our view, is an intellectual crisis for human civilizations. Society is not defined by monetary wealth, but by its intellectual capital, of which poetry is a critical component," he added.

The Dubai International Poetry Festival 2009, taking place form 4-10 March, will feature special evenings, critical discussions, workshops and theatrical performances to raise the holistic profile of poetry. A galaxy of poets and litterateurs will converge in Dubai from all over the world for the Festival. Adding to the offerings of the event will be 'Souk Ukadh' that will seek to recreate the halcyon days of Arab creative expression and will be hosted at a number of shopping malls in Dubai including Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates and Dubai Festival City.