Sharjah Arabic Poetry Festival to begin next Monday

Under the Patronage of the Ruler of Sharjah
Sharjah Arabic Poetry Festival to begin next Monday
Al Owais: The Golden Qawafi Award honors 12 new creatives

Sharjah—

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, the activities of the 22nd edition of the Sharjah Arabic Poetry Festival will commence next Monday, 5 January 2026. Organized by the Department of Culture in Sharjah, the festival runs for seven days with the participation of more than 80 poets, poetesses, critics, and media professionals representing Arab countries, along with a number of African nations.

His Excellency Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Owais, Chairman of the Department of Culture, said: “The Sharjah Arabic Poetry Festival inscribes a new creative chapter in the ‘Diwan of the Arabs.’ This poetic event, which has formed a distinctive cultural phenomenon within the Arab cultural scene, is grounded in the profound vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, who regards Arabic poetry as the speaking memory of the nation, the guardian of its language, and one of the most important expressions of its cultural and civilizational conscience.”

Al Owais added: “From this standpoint, the festival continues to fulfill its cultural mission by bringing together poets and critics from across the Arab world, reinforcing the vision of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah—‘Sharjah, bearer of culture and capital of the Arabic language’—as a space for celebrating Arabic poetry and its creators, and as an effective platform for aesthetic dialogue and the meeting of diverse literary and cultural experiences.”

He noted that the current edition features the participation of more than 80 creatives united by their love for the word and the celebration of its aesthetics, adding that the 22nd edition will reveal 12 new names among the winners of the fourth edition of the Golden Qawafi Award, whose poetic works were published across 12 issues of Al-Qawafi magazine during 2025.

Regarding the festival’s intellectual program, Al Owais stated: “The festival activities are accompanied by an intellectual symposium titled ‘The Emotional Trend in Arabic Poetry and Its Transformations.’ This symposium constitutes a research and knowledge platform that enables audiences and interested participants to explore one of the most prominent themes in Arabic poetry—emotion—by examining its manifestations and aesthetic and intellectual transformations across different periods.”

The Chairman of the Department of Culture also highlighted the participation of African poets, affirming that hosting poets from African countries signals the festival’s openness to new poetic horizons and contributes to strengthening cultural bridges and supporting Arabic poetry forums in Africa, thereby enriching the continent’s diverse poetic experiences.

Al Owais concluded: “From Sharjah to Kalba, the festival travels to conclude its 22nd edition with a poetry evening hosted by the Kalba Literary Council. This movement embodies a cultural dimension that reflects the festival’s openness to all areas of the emirate, allowing participants to explore Sharjah’s regions where the history of place blends with the fragrance of the word, in a creative scene that reflects the comprehensive cultural experience of the festival.”

Opening

The opening ceremony will take place at the Cultural Palace in Sharjah. The program will begin with a recorded presentation titled Years of Poetry, followed by poetry readings by Dr. Ahmed Balboula (Egypt), Hezbr Mahmoud (Iraq), and Najat Al Dhaheri (UAE). The ceremony will also honor the winners of the fifth edition of the Sharjah Award for Arab Poetry Criticism: Mahrez Bin Mohsen Rashdi (Tunisia) in first place, Mahdi Al-Araj (Morocco) in second place, and Hassan Mohammed Mahmoud (Mauritania) in third place.

The first day’s activities will continue with a poetry evening featuring Salah Al Din Al Khou (Mauritania), Abdulwahid Omran (Yemen), Ahmed Al-Fakhri (Libya), Mabrouk Al-Sayari (Tunisia), and Hanan Farfour (Lebanon), presented by poet Khalid Al-Yassari (Iraq). 

Qawafi Award

On the morning of the second day, the winners of the Golden Qawafi Award (4th edition) will be honored at the House of Dr. Sultan Al Qasimi. The winners will present their poetic texts, Qawafi Annals 2025, reflecting their literary experiences. The honorees are: Hussein Al-Abdullah (Syria), Ahmed Shalaby (Egypt), Dr. Rashid Issa (Jordan), Noufel Al-Saeedi (Morocco), Omar Al-Raji (Morocco), Zakaria Mustafa (Sudan), Hamza Al-Yousef (Syria), Abdullah Abdel-Sabour (Egypt), Dr. Mohammed Al-Ateeq (Syria), Asmaa Al Hammadi (UAE), Khalid Al-Hassan (Iraq), and Shams Al-Din Boukloua (Algeria).

The second day will also feature a poetry evening at the House of Poetry in Sharjah with the participation of Jassim Al-Sahih (Saudi Arabia), Dr. Mohammed Nazim Fatikhan (Iraq), Mohammed Dansoko (Guinea), Ali Dehini (Lebanon), Hassan Amer (Egypt), and Dr. Iman Abdelhadi (Jordan), presented by Jordanian poet Omar Abu Al-Hijaa.

On the third day, poetry readings continue at the House of Poetry with the participation of Hassan Al-Matrooshi (Oman), Dr. Omar Al-Sarari (Iraq), Hajar Omar (Egypt), Ahmed Al-Suwairi (Syria), Tahani Al-Subaih (Saudi Arabia), Salah Al-Din Al-Khou (Mauritania), and Dr. Ahmed Balboula (Egypt), presented by Saudi poet Abdulkarim Al-Hijab.

Intellectual Symposium

The fourth day of the festival begins with the accompanying intellectual symposium titled “The Emotional Trend in Arabic Poetry and Its Transformations,” held across two sessions.

In the first session, Dr. Saeed Bakour (Morocco) presents a study titled “Emotion and the Self: A Bridge to the Other,”while Dr. Ahmed Al-Jawwa (Tunisia) presents a paper titled “The Emotional Trend in Arabic Criticism.” The session is moderated by Dr. Mohammed Abu Al-Shawarib (Egypt).

The second session features Dr. Mahmoud Al-Dhabaa (Egypt) with a paper titled “Emotion and the Formation of Cultural Identity,” and Dr. Omar Al-Aamri (Jordan) with a paper titled “Manifestations of Nature in Emotional Poetry.”The session is moderated by Lama Al-Aqrabi (Tunisia).

On the same day, the audience will also attend a poetry evening held at the House of Poetry, featuring Dr. Arif Al-Saadi(Iraq), Amal Al-Sahlawi (United Arab Emirates), Dr. Osama Taj Al-Sirr (Sudan), Mohammed Khudair (Jordan), and Ibrahim Abdelkarim Mohammed (Chad). The evening will be presented by Jordanian poet Abdullah Abu Bakr.

Readings

Poetry readings continue on the fifth day at the House of Poetry with Hezbar Mahmoud (Iraq), Abdullah Al-Hadiya (UAE), Mustafa Matar (Palestine), Mohammed Al-Soudi (Yemen), Oqba Mazouzi (Algeria), Hussein Al Ammar (Saudi Arabia), and Reeman Yassin (Syria), presented by Jordanian poet Hossam Shdeifat.

On the sixth day, poetry evenings continue at the House of Poetry with readings by Mohammed Arij (Morocco), Mudar Al-Alousi (Iraq), Nasser Al-Ghassani (Oman), Jabr Baadani (Yemen), Mohammed Ould Adoumo (Mauritania), Aseel Saqlawi (Lebanon), and Dr. Khalifa bin Arabi (Bahrain), presented by Sudanese poet Abdul Latif Mahjoub.

Closing

From Sharjah to Kalba, the festival concludes its 22nd edition with a poetry evening at the Kalba Literary Council, featuring Dr. Hassan Al-Najjar (UAE), Abdullah Abdel-Sabour (Egypt), Omar Al-Raji (Morocco), Talal Salem (UAE), Khalid Al-Hassan (Iraq), and Najat Al Dhaheri (UAE), presented by Iraqi poet Ghassan Adil.