Al Ain Book Festival 2025 to Celebrate Emirati Heritage with ‘Poetry Nights: The Sung Word’
Al Ain, The Gulf Observer: The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) has announced that the Al Ain Book Festival 2025, scheduled to take place from 24 to 30 November 2025, will once again celebrate the beauty of Arabic poetry and creative expression through its acclaimed programme, ‘Poetry Nights: The Sung Word’.
Now in its fourth edition, the programme has gained wide popularity in previous years for blending poetry, music, and song, creating a unique cultural experience that draws large audiences. This year’s edition will be held under the slogan ‘From Al Ain, Poetry is Sung’, paying tribute to the city’s rich poetic legacy and the poets who have helped preserve its folk heritage and express its aesthetic and emotional identity.
As part of the Festival’s ‘Key Figures’ segment, the programme will also commemorate the enduring impact of great poets who have left a lasting mark on the UAE’s cultural and literary landscape.
In keeping with the UAE leadership’s declaration of 2025 as the ‘Year of Community’, the programme will feature activities designed for diverse social groups. These include panel discussions on poetry and heritage, exploring how poetic expression has long been woven into Al Ain’s social fabric—reflecting the community’s values, customs, and traditions through verses and proverbs. Poetry, once an essential part of everyday life, served as a means of communication, reflection, and collective memory across generations.
A highlight of the Festival, Poetry Nights will host over 30 poets across seven sessions at Qasr Al Muwaiji, held each evening during the Festival week. Alongside traditional recitations, audiences will enjoy performances of beloved Emirati folk arts that depict the desert and marine heritage of the UAE, including Al Taghrooda, Al Wanna, Al Radha, Al Azi, Al Mankous, and Al Shallat.
Blending poetry with performance, the event will immerse audiences in traditional artistic styles that evoke the voices of ancestors and continue to captivate both younger and older generations. Several sessions will also discuss the role of authentic folk poetry in reinforcing national identity, social values, and cultural continuity.
For the first time, the programme will include a special session for children and young adults with poetic talent, giving them the opportunity to perform their work, learn from established poets, and develop their creative abilities. This initiative aims to nurture emerging talent and inspire the next generation of Emirati poets.
The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre seeks to build on the success of ‘Poetry Nights: The Sung Word’ by establishing it as a sustainable platform that strengthens the UAE’s cultural movement, particularly in heritage and folk poetry. The programme reflects the UAE’s ongoing commitment to preserving its cultural legacy, promoting the Arabic language, and fostering a love for reading and artistic expression among young people in alignment with the country’s visionary leadership.
