Ramadan Book Fair hosts majlis on importance of poetry

The second edition of the Ramadan Book Fair on Saturday hosted a majlis on the importance of the role of poetry in promoting values in Qatari society.
Poets Shabib bin Arar al-Nuaimi, director of the Qatar Poetry Centre (Diwan Al Arab) and Mubarak al-Khalifa, director of the Publications and Artistic Works Department at the Ministry of Culture, participated in the majlis that was moderated by media figure Jassim Salman.
Al-Nuaimi said, "Poetry is considered an essential component and a fundamental pillar of the civilisations of nations, before the advent of Islam period up to the modern era. It has a role in advancing the values of society, and the poetry immortalised in history is the one that carried the values of its societies and protected them.”
He noted that the message of the Diwan Al Arab centre, which was established by HE the Minister of Culture’s Decision No. 94 of 2016, is to spread the culture of poetry and create a generation of creative poets in the country by sponsoring young Qatari talents, supporting and guiding them, and contributing to raising their intellectual and literary level.
It does so while adopting poetic projects that improve the discernment of society and preserve its cultural identity, and work to define general standards and frameworks for poetry in a way that is commensurate with the cultural nature of Qatari society.
Al-Nuaimi spoke about the many activities and poetry competitions held by the centre, the most prominent of which is the Universities Poet Award, and how it succeeded in creating a generation of poets who uphold positive and moral values in society.
He said the Diwan Al Arab centre is about to announce, at a press conference, the largest poetry competition in the Gulf open to all poets in Qatar, the Gulf and Arab countries. On the future activities of the centre, al-Nuaimi said it will launch a university poet competition after Eid.
Al-Khalifa stressed the importance of poetry in adopting many societal issues, highlighting the great role of poets in community issues. Qatar is currently distinguished by the most important poetry awards that adopt Islamic values, most notably the Katara Award for the Prophet’s Poet, the Al Arabi Poetry Award ('Mothers of the Believers') and others that achieve these principles and values.
Al-Khalifa touched upon the arrival of great Qatari poets along with the emergence of Qatar TV, which had an influential role in promoting the local poetic scene, referring to the contribution of the Doha Cultural Festival, which constituted another qualitative leap in the march of poetry.