Overture of Diversity: Dubai’s Poetic Symphony
In the heart of the Arabian Gulf, where the desert meets the sea, Dubai stands as a testament to human diversity and cultural confluence. This city, home to over 200 nationalities, has become a vibrant crucible of poetic expression, where voices from across the globe intertwine to create a unique literary tapestry. As of 2024, Dubai’s poetry scene is not just thriving; it’s redefining what it means to be a global literary hub in the 21st century.
According to the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, the city hosted 487 multilingual poetry events in 2023, featuring works in 43 different languages. This extraordinary diversity has given birth to new poetic forms, themes, and collaborations that are reshaping the landscape of contemporary poetry worldwide.
The Emirate of Verse: Native Voices Reimagined
At the core of Dubai’s poetic renaissance are the voices of Emirati poets, who are reimagining their traditional forms in the context of their cosmopolitan home. The “Neo-Nabati” movement, pioneered by Emirati poet Aisha Al Naqbi, has gained international acclaim for its fusion of classical Bedouin poetic structures with contemporary urban themes.
Al Naqbi’s 2023 collection, “Skyscrapers in the Sand,” won the prestigious Arab Literary Prize and has been translated into 15 languages. In the title poem, she writes:
“Our ancestors’ caravans now cruise on eight-lane highways, Their campfire stories echo from LED screens. Yet in the shadow of glass towers, The desert wind still whispers ancient verses.”
This renaissance of Emirati poetry has inspired a new generation of local poets. The “Emirati Youth Poetry Initiative,” launched in 2022, has already nurtured over 500 young voices, with their works being featured in school curricula across the UAE and beyond.
Voices from the Subcontinent: South Asian Poetic Diaspora
With South Asians forming a significant portion of Dubai’s population, their poetic traditions have found fertile ground in the city’s literary landscape. The annual “Silk Road Poetry Festival,” initiated in 2021, has become a major platform for South Asian poets in Dubai to showcase their work.
Indian-born poet Arjun Mehta’s 2024 collection, “Monsoon in the Desert,” exemplifies the unique perspective of the South Asian diaspora in Dubai. In his poem “Curry on Shawarma Street,” Mehta blends imagery from Indian and Arab cuisines to explore themes of cultural adaptation:
“Cardamom mingles with za’atar in the air, Saffron threads weave through shawarma spits. In this culinary cacophony, We find the taste of our hybrid homes.”
The influence of South Asian poetic forms is also evident in the wider Dubai poetry scene. The ghazal, a traditional Urdu poetic form, has seen a revival, with poets from various backgrounds adopting and adapting it to express their multicultural experiences.
African Rhythms in Arabian Nights
The African diaspora in Dubai has brought a rich tradition of oral poetry and performance to the city’s literary scene. The “Africanity Poetry Collective,” founded in 2022 by Nigerian-born poet Oluwaseun Adebayo, has become a powerful voice in Dubai’s poetry landscape.
Adebayo’s 2023 spoken word performance, “Sahara to Savannah,” at the Dubai Opera, blended West African griot traditions with contemporary themes of migration and identity. The performance, which incorporated elements of music and dance, received a standing ovation and was live-streamed to an audience of over 100,000 viewers worldwide.
Kenyan poet Njeri Mbuthia’s experimental work “Swahili Sands” (2024) combines Swahili and Arabic in a series of poems that explore the historical connections between East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The collection has been praised for its innovative use of linguistic fusion and its exploration of shared cultural heritage.
Eastern Echoes: Far Eastern Poetic Influences
The significant East Asian communities in Dubai have brought their unique poetic traditions to the city, creating fascinating fusions with Middle Eastern and Western forms. The “Cherry Blossom and Date Palm Poetry Series,” launched in 2023, showcases works by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean poets residing in Dubai.
Chinese poet Li Wei’s haiku sequence “Dubai in Seventeen Syllables” (2024) applies the traditional Japanese form to scenes from Dubai life, creating striking juxtapositions:
“Glass spire pierces sky Abaya-clad women stroll by Ancient meets modern”
Japanese poet Akira Tanaka’s experimental work “Kanji in the Souk” (2023) projects Japanese characters onto traditional Arab marketplaces, both literally in multimedia performances and figuratively in his verses, exploring themes of linguistic and cultural intersection.
European Verses on Arabian Sands
European expatriates in Dubai have contributed significantly to the city’s poetic landscape, often grappling with themes of cultural dislocation and rediscovery. The “Euro-Arabian Poetry Bridge,” an annual event launched in 2022, has become a key platform for dialogue between European and Arab poetic traditions.
British poet Emily Wordsworth’s sonnet sequence “Desert Sonnets” (2023) reimagines the traditional English form in the context of Dubai’s landscape:
“In concrete forests, steel-clad trees arise, Where once the empty quarter’s sands held sway. Beneath the scorching sun of Arab skies, New verses bloom in most unlikely clay.”
French poet Sophie Leclerc’s bilingual collection “Mirages et Merveilles” (2024) alternates between French and Arabic, exploring the dual nature of life in Dubai through a series of prose poems that blur the lines between the real and the fantastical.
Latin Beats in the Middle East
The growing Latin American community in Dubai has infused the city’s poetry scene with the rhythms and passions of their native lands. The “Noches de PoesÃa Latina” (Latin Poetry Nights), a monthly event started in 2023, has become a cultural phenomenon, attracting poetry lovers from all backgrounds.
Brazilian poet Carlos Silva’s 2024 collection “Samba no Deserto” (Samba in the Desert) blends the musicality of Brazilian Portuguese with Arabic words and themes. His poem “Feijoada no Iftar” humorously and poignantly explores cultural fusion through the lens of cuisine:
“Black beans simmer with halal beef, In a Ramadan pot of culinary belief. Carioca rhythms meet muezzin’s call, In this concrete jungle, we contain it all.”
Argentine poet Gabriela Cortez’s experimental work “Tango de las Dunas” (2023) combines elements of Argentine tango lyrics with traditional Arabic love poetry, creating a unique fusion that has been adapted for stage performances in Dubai and beyond.
Digital Verses: The Online Poetic Community
Dubai’s tech-savvy population has given rise to a vibrant online poetry community that transcends physical boundaries. The “Dubai Digital Poets’ Society,” founded in 2022, now boasts over 50,000 members from 75 countries, sharing and collaborating on poems through social media and specialized apps.
The “Virtual Verse” app, launched in 2023, uses augmented reality to allow users to leave location-based poems around Dubai, creating a city-wide digital poetry anthology that can be accessed through smartphones. As of 2024, over 10,000 poems have been “pinned” to locations across the city, ranging from the top of Burj Khalifa to quiet corners of old Dubai.
Verses of Unity: Collaborative Poetic Projects
One of the most remarkable aspects of Dubai’s diverse poetry scene is the emergence of large-scale collaborative projects that bring together voices from multiple communities. The “7 Emirates, 7 Continents” project, launched in 2024, pairs poets from each of the UAE’s seven emirates with poets from seven different continents to create collaborative works.
The resulting anthology, “Global Verses, Local Voices,” features 49 poems that blend diverse cultural perspectives. The opening poem, a collaboration between an Emirati poet from Dubai and an Indigenous Australian poet, begins:
“From red desert to golden sands, Our ancient stories span the lands. Though oceans apart, our tales entwine, In this city where all worlds align.”
Conclusion: Dubai’s Poetic Horizon
As Dubai continues to evolve as a global crossroads, its poetry scene stands as a shining example of cultural harmony and creative fusion. From the sands of the desert to the shores of the Gulf, from the crowded alleys of old souks to the gleaming corridors of skyscrapers, the city resonates with a multitude of poetic voices.
These voices, diverse in origin but united in their adopted home, are crafting a new poetic language that reflects the complex, multicultural reality of our globalized world. They challenge traditional notions of national literature, creating instead a truly international poetic idiom born from the unique crucible of Dubai’s cultural landscape.
As Emirati poet Fatima Al Mazrouei reflects, “In Dubai, every verse is a bridge, every stanza a meeting point. Our poetry, like our city, is a testament to what humanity can achieve when we embrace our differences and weave them into a common tapestry.”
As we look to the future, it’s clear that Dubai’s diverse poetic voices will continue to play a crucial role in shaping the global literary landscape, offering new perspectives, forms, and collaborations that push the boundaries of poetic expression. In this city of superlatives, perhaps its greatest achievement is the creation of a poetic ecosystem as diverse, dynamic, and innovative as the city itself.
