Arab poets gather for festival

The seventh annual Sharjah Arab Poetry Forum will begin next month with 30 poets from across the Arab world. The six-day programme will include four nights of poetry recitals, followed by critical discussions. Tributes will be paid to Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who died in August. The forum will take place at various locations across the emirate, including Sharjah University, the Sharjah Arab Cultural Centre and the Cultural Centre in Khorfakkan, the state news agency, WAM, reported yesterday.

Dr Bahjat al Hadithi, in charge of Bayt al Shi'r (House of Poetry) in Sharjah's department of culture and information, said his department was keen to implement the directive from Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed, Ruler of Sharjah, to encourage the cultural movement in the Emirate and across the Arab world, in order to provide a creative and intellectual environment. [e-mail]