Yemen’s Zaraei crowned 2011 Prince of Poets

Yemen’s Zaraei crowned 2011 Prince of Poets

Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed gives Princely Gown and Princely Ring to Zaraei, winner of 2011 Arabic poetry contest.

ABU DHABI- Feb 23, 2011- Yemeni poet Abdul Aziz Al Zaraei was crowned Wednesday as the new "Prince of Poets" in a thrilling finale broadcast live on Abu Dhabi TV from Raha Beach Theatre of the UAE capital.

Jordan’s Mohammed Al Azzam, who was the first qualifier in the first episode of the Arab world’s biggest classical poetry competition, was voted off, leaving five contestants to compete for the crown.

The five contestants were: Jordan’s Mohammed Turki Hijazi, Oman’s Mountazar Al Moussawi, Yemen’s Abdul Aziz Al-Zaraei, Iraq’s Najah Al Arsan and Egypt’s Hisham Al Jakh.

Twenty poets from seventeen Arab countries have been competing for the prestigious “Prince of Poets” title in Abu Dhabi in the last three months.

Poetry lovers and the audience had the pleasure to embark on an ecstatic poetry adventure with the contestants from the very first episode.

Zaraei the winner, Jakh the runner up

Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, gave the Princely Gown and the Princely Ring to Zaraei, the winner of the 2011 Prince of Poets competition.

Also present among the audience were Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, the Advisor for Culture and Heritage at the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Director General of ADACH, Sultan Al Amimi Director of the Poetry Academy and Hassan Baiti, last year’s winner of the third session of the Prince of Poets.

A large audience flocked to the theatre to support their favourite poets amid a strong presence of local, Arab and foreign media.

The fourth session’s runner up was Jakh while Moussawi came third, Arsan fourth and Hijazi fifth.

Prince of Poets is supported and produced by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage. 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 Gown which is a historical legacy of the Arabs, and the Princely Ring which is a symbol of the Prince of Poets title.

Winners of following four places receive substantial money prizes as the festival management issues collections of their audio-written poetry: 500,000 UAE dirhams and a silver medal for the second place, 300,000 and a bronze medal for the third, 200,000 and a bronze medal for the fourth and 100,000 and a bronze medal for the fifth.

“Prince of Poets” is the first of its kind in the Arab world. It is cultural competition that was launched by Abu Dhabi in April 2007 and is aimed at promoting and enhancing classical Arabic poetry, reviving the positive role of Arabic poetry as a medium of expression, and discovering young talents and giving them the chance to develop and grow.

The Poetry Academy publishes audio-visual poetry collections of the five winners.

Source: Middle East Online