The Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation has hosted a webinar on “Salem Al Jamri: The Diving-Trip Chanter of Emirati Folk Poetry” via its online platform on Monday, April 19th, 2021. The webinar, which was moderated by poet Sheikha Al Mutairi, featured researcher and poet Mu’ayad Al Shaibani and poet Mahmoud Nour.
The webinar was attended by HE Dr. Sulaiman Mousa Al Jassim, Deputy Chairman of the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation, HE Abdul Hamid Ahmed, Secretary General of the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation and HE Dr. Fatima Al Sayegh, Member of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees as well as an audience of culture enthusiasts.
The webinar began with Dr. Fatima Al Sayegh, who welcomed all the participants in this virtual Ramadan symposium that aims to commemorate an important Emirati poet who has greatly influenced Emirati folk poetry.
The webinar coincides with the launch of Salem Al Jamri: Nahham Al Qaseeda Al Sha’biya Al Imaratiyya (Salem Al Jamri: The Diving-Trip Chanter of Emirati Folk Poetry), a book by Mu’ayad Al Shaibani. The publication is part of the “Notable Figures from the UAE” book series, launched by the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation in 2012, which aims at documenting and shedding light on the lives and works of icons in the fields of literature, art and thought who have left an indelible mark on public life and on the cultural and artistic scenes.
Speaking at the event, researcher and poet Mu’ayyad Al Shaibani talked about Al Jamri’s life and said: “Salem Al Jamri was born in 1910 and died in 1991. His poetic experience was characterized by popularity and by a strong presence in various media as well as in poetry evenings and songs. Al Jamri’s poetry went through a number of phases; his early poetry was influenced by veteran poets in the UAE and the Gulf in general, before he became acquainted with retired artist Ali Bin Rogha who sang more than 100 poems by Al Jamri. His latter poetry is characterized by wisdom, which is reflected in his rich and expressive poems of experience that express seven decades of Al Jamri’s poetic journey.”
On the other hand, poet Mohamed Nour shed more light on Al Jamri’s life and his interaction with his social circle, explaining many of the words used in his poetry. He also talked about Al Jamri’s professional career, and some of the jobs he took in various places, which made him more acquainted with the rituals of public life, as his poems stemmed from the depth of his human experience, making them popular among people. His poems were performed by singers from the UAE and beyond, he added.
It is worth mentioning that since its launch in 2012, the “Notable Figures from the UAE” book series has underlined the efforts made by the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation to support the cultural field in the UAE, and its keenness on commemorating the pioneers who have paved the way in the fields of thought, culture and knowledge in the UAE, and who made great contributions that made them beacons of light leading the way for the future and opening horizons for creativity in all forms of literature and culture. This important project aims at bringing these notable figures of the UAE into living memory so that their ambitious and enlightened ideas that overcame all the obstacles and difficult circumstances of their times may inspire and guide the new generations and become a cherished legacy.
Moreover, it is worth mentioning that the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation has hosted many webinars, virtual poetry evenings and online exhibitions through Zoom online platform since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have been met with great success. These virtual events have succeeded in connecting cultural figures with the audience and bridged the distance between various geographical places in the Arab world.
