ABU DHABI - The fourth live episode of the first stage of 2009 "Prince of Poets" competition highlighted Thursday the programme's noble goals to restore the value of Arabic poetry and its giant stature expressive of an inherent cultural heritage and a great intellectual and poetic achievement.
The fourth episode, Broadcast live from the Shatea' Al Rahaa Auditorium on Abu Dhabi and the Million's Poet satellite channels and Emirates FM, showed the close relationship between poetry and reality as it bears the beauty of expression and influential honesty.
Candidates who competed in the episode were: Saeed Ateeq Saif Batiye Al Qubaisi (UAE), Mohammad Al-Soudi (Yemen), Qamar Sabri Jassem (Syria), Masar Riad Ali (Iraq), Belqais Al-Shamiri (Saudi Arabia), Mohammed Arij (Morocco) and Malek Samara (Palestine), before an audience of poetry fans from the UAE and various Arab communities residing in Gulf states.
A summary of the most important highlights of the previous episode were shown to the audience, including the qualification of Hassan Baiti (Syria) and Bassam Saleh (Iraq) along with Shadli Qrawshi who got the jury's highest score.
The Arabic music orchestra, led by Maestro Majid Sorour, played the best of the inherent Arabic music to the ears of the audience while Ahmad Bakhit recited a poem.
The Moroccan poet Mohammed Arij emerged the winner of the fourth episode by the jury's decision after a thorough analysis of the contestants' steamy and distinct poems. Malek Samara won the Shatea' Al Rahaa Auditorium's vote.
Belqais Al-Shamri started the poetry contest with the poem "The Sun's Eyes Observe Me". Judge Dr. Ahmed Khreis said the poem was an attempt to address the father and daughter issue, which was not in fact an issue. Judge Nayef Rashdan said Shamri used a good language and mixed pictures, while Judge Dr. Ali bin Tamim noted that the poetess tried to make maternity compete with paternity, adding that emotion considerably dominated the poem.
Judge Dr Salah Fadhel said that Saeed Ateeq Saif Batiye Al Qubaisi's poem "treats rhymes and uses a mixture of abandonment, reunion, love and gallantry," asking the poet to identify the nature of his poetry experience. Judge Dr. Abdul Malik Murtadh described Qubaisi as "a poetic branch that will expand through the earth's horizons although he still needs the tools to expand it." Khreis pointed out that the poet savored the poetic issue with all his senses.
As for Qamar Sabri Jassem, Dr. Fadhel said that her poem "has some Nizari auras but in a female dress," in reference to the great Arab poet Nizar Qabbani. Dr. bin Tamim praised Jassem's poem which he saw as a beautiful blend of poetry with poetry. Dr. Murtadh said that the poem ranged between weakness and strength as it carried a considerable feminine sense.
Malek Samara's poem drew a mixture of the Jury's criticism. Dr. Murtadh noticed that the poet tries to evoke heritage, with the existence of some imperfections in the text. Dr. Khreis said that the poem was confusing and contained very beautiful and profound verses, while Rashdan liked the successful and beautiful beginning of the poem as the poet "enters in the world of visions and dream."
Mohammad Al-Soudi's poem won Rashdan's praise thanks to its title which proved the language breakthrough and the glamour of the meaning. Dr. Fadhel said that the poet's age precedes his poetic ability in drafting the text, adding that the poet's poetic soul "is neat and beautiful and deserves to be resurrected from the ashes." Dr. bin Tamim saw in the poem two poets - a gentle poet and an artificial poet – which "brings us to a poet who can make a sentence and fill our world with a wonderful poetic picture."
Mohammed Arij's poem also came under the microscope. "Arij's poem is beautiful but he needs to needs to rehearse on reciting," said Dr. Khreis, while Dr. Rashdan noted that the poem's verses were fine and beautiful and that the text carried a very beautiful picture. Dr. Murtadh stressed that Arij robbed the poem's right in reciting although the poetic text was of the greatest of what poets write.
The fourth episode concluded with Masar Ali's poem which dazzled Dr. Fadhel who said that Iraq was still a fertile land of great poets, likening the poem's verses to Iraq's dates that melt in the mouth and their sweetness that does not go away. Dr. bin Tamim said that there was a struggle to humanize the poem. Dr. Murtadh suggested that Ali "plays with the poeticality and doest not care about the lexical language which got him some linguistic imperfections.
Prince of Poets' fifth episode will witness the participation of the following poets: Hikmate Hassan Jomo'a (Syria), Najat bint Obaid Faraj Al-Hajri (Oman), Safwane Qodaisate (Jordan), Abdul Rahman Al-Harbi (Saudi Arabia), Mohammad Mohammad Salem Mahboubi (Mauritania), Mohammad Salem Ahmad Salem Abadah (Egypt) and Osama Shaabane Mohammad Al-Riyani (Libya).
Prince of Poets is supported and produced by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH). The first place winner gets the title of "Prince of Poets" and a cash prize of one million UAE dirhams, in addition to the Princely Garments which is a historical legacy of the Arabs, and the Princely Ring which is a symbol of the Prince of Poets title.
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