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The Poetry Academy of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) has published Dr. Ghassan Al Hassan’s "Poetry Civilization in the UAE Desert".
The book highlights the importance of Nabati poetry as a cultural and civil pot for the Bedouins, as poetry is considered to be the main theme of their arts and literature, the Bedouin poet’s stand in the UAE desert and the relationship between poets and Bedouin life.
All the poets mentioned in Hassan’s book are categorized as Bedouins through their Bedouin-Nabati works. He emphasized that being a Bedouin does not conflict with the notion of being civilized, since civilization is the accumulation of human achievements on certain cultural backgrounds and material achievements. Bedouin, in fact, is part of this civilization in its material and moral aspect.
Different poets gave different interpretations of history within their poetical context. They either took a close approach to history or alternatively diverged away from it. There are different intentions attached to each: some verses are written to inform; others are used as analytical tools. In that respect, poets seem to deal in a similar way with modern day information or old history.
The book (265 pages) comes in five chapters: the first introduces Nabati poetry, its characteristics and history in the UAE; the second highlights the fundamental importance of poetry as the main literature and arts tool; the third deals with poetry as a historical documentation; the fourth states the values of beauty and passion in the poetry of the late Sheikh Zayed (may God rest his soul); the fifth stresses the role played by women in Nabati civilization and poetry in the UAE.
Hassan’s book emphasizes the role played by poetry in Arabic societies since olden times. The author stresses that poetry was not only a form of literature, or a way to express passion or personal issues, but that it exceeded this in order to be a representation of life and other general issues. Although the current Nabati poetry indicates that its foundations go back to the Fourth Hijri Century (Tenth Century CE), it can be traced through earlier dialects to a time before Islam.
The book examines the significance of passion, goodness and beauty in the poetry of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (may God rest his soul), who valued verses’ effects on fervent souls, and their impact on the human spirit in general. He realized the importance of poetry in people’s minds, who thought of it as a form of expression and perception.
Poetry, for the UAE people, was a standalone form of civilization before it was considered to be art or literature. His vision was crystallized in the way he expressed his passion for the desert which was reflected and illustrated clearly in his snapshot verses.
"Poetry is no longer a verbal art or an illustrative form of expression, but a fundamental role in the social, artistic and literary life. It is the same role that was played by poetry in the early days of Arab society, when it was called ’Arab Diwan’ to emphasize its role as the main cultural pot for Arabs," said Hassan.
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