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The Cultural Programs and Heritage Festivals Committee Abu Dhabi announced the start of registration for participation in the "Prince of Poets" competition in its sixth season (2014-2015). Those willing to take part can submit their requests between the 10th of August and the 10th October, and this via e-mail: POP6@tcaabudhabi.ae.

Considered as one of the most influential TV programmes in the Arab region, the Prince of Poets is inspired by the entrenched Arab heritage. It aims at restoring great works of poetry and literature. The programme also seeks to revive the Arab cultural heritage while stimulating creative production on the contemporary poetry scene in the Arab region.

The previous season of the Prince of Poets was broadcast over 10 weeks (May-July 2013). The Prince of Poets is organised every two years alternately with the Millions Poet which had brought the curtain down on its last season in May, 2014.

In June 2013, Egyptian poet Alaa Janib won the title of the Prince of Poets in its 5th season, receiving a Burda (a cloak) symbolising Arab heritage and a ring denoting a prince. The winner of the 4th season was the Yemeni poet Abdul Aziz Al Zarai. Other winners are Syrian Hassan Baiti (3rd season), Mauritanian Sidi Mohamed Ould Bamba (2nd season), and Emirati Abdul Kareem Maatouk (1st season).

Launched in 2007 as an annual mega cultural event in the Arab region, the Prince of Poets usually comes to a close with the announcement of the winner of the title. Over 5 seasons, the Prince of Poets has succeeded in revealing up to 145 talented poets, aged between 18 and 48 years old.

The Prince of Poets TV programme has recently received Al Owais Award for Creativity (2014) for the category of the Best Local Cultural TV Programme. In 2009, the Prince of Poets was awarded two prestigious prizes in the field of television production, both at the Arab and international levels. The programme was picked as the Best Creative Programme at the British A.I.B Festival. And with the participation of hundreds of Arab TV productions, the Prince of Poets has also received the Golden Award as the Best TV Programme at the Gulf Radio and TV Production Festival in Bahrain.

In the new season, the age of admissible candidates has been limited between 18 and 45. Each submission must consist of one poem composed in classical Arabic. All submissions must be typed and sent by email as an attachment or printed out and faxed to: 0097126433323. Handwritten poems will not be accepted.

The traditional classical Arabic poems amudi (in column form) as well as free verse or tafila (metric) poems are accepted. Prose poems are not allowed into the competition.

Each candidate poet is advised to send either one classical poem consisting of at least 20 lines and not exceeding 30 lines, or one tafila or free verse poem consisting of no more than two strophes, each containing a maximum of 15 lines.

Along with the poems, candidates must send their CVs specifying their date of birth, favourite activities and literary achievements, in addition to their permanent address in their home country, email, contact numbers and a passport copy.

"Through the organisation of the eloquent poetry competition The Prince of Poets in its 6th season, the Cultural Programs and Heritage Festivals Committee continues its work toward stimulating the cultural and literary activity in the UAE and the Arab region. The Committee is thereby contributing to the recognition of talented poets who can demonstrate their inimitable talents and prestigious creative abilities. By participating in the programme, poets do actually give emphasis to their sense of belonging to an inherent Arab history and culture that made of poetry its main medium and form of expression," said the Director of the Poetry Academy, Mr. Sultan Al Amimi.

"The Prince of Poets competition is proud for having introduced new and young talents to the public of eloquent Arabic poetry. During the previous editions, the participating poets have proved that the presence of the classical Arabic poem is still strongly felt on the Arab poetry scene. Without losing authenticity and fundamental artistic foundations, the amudi poem has been following the different attempts of resourcefulness, both on the level of form and content," Amimi added.

The Culture and Heritage Advisor at the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Chairman of the Cultural Programs and Heritage Festivals Committee Abu Dhabi, Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, noted that "such a creative project, characterised by inspired competition, offers contemporary Arab poets an opportunity to compete in one of the most popular TV programmes."

"The Prince of Poets and the Millions Poet, the biggest TV programme of its kind in the world, have succeeded in attracting millions of Arab viewers from around the world," he added.

Mazrouei also noted that "the Prince of Poets project seeks to endorse and refine classical Arabic poetry, while providing encouragement to talented poets. The programme hopes to promote this form of poetry in Arab circles and revive the positive role of poetry in the Arab and human culture, by delivering a message of peace and tolerance. The project also aims at drawing attention to the significant role of Abu Dhabi in the strengthening of interaction and dialogue between the poets of classical poetry in all parts of the world."

"Organised by the Cultural Programs and Heritage Festivals Committee and supported by His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the various initiatives and programmes translate the desire of Abu Dhabi to support creativity and talent in the fields of culture, arts, poetry and literature. In this context, we remain committed to the principles of Emirati excellence while we seek to establish the position of Abu Dhabi as an international capital for thought, culture and creativity," said Mazrouei.

Prizes:

In addition to the Burda, the gown which represents the Arab historical heritage and the ring which stands for the title of the Emirate, the cash value of the top prize received by the winner of the Prince of Poets title is AED 1 million. The holder of the second position gets AED 500,000, the third AED 300,000, the fourth AED 200,000 and the fifth AED 100,000. The Organising Committee of the Competition also sponsors the publishing of printed and audio poetry collections authored by winning poets.

Winners of the Previous Seasons of the Prince of Poets:

First Season:

1 - Prince of Poets: Karim Maatouk - UAE.
2 - Mohamed Ould Taleb - Mauritania.
3 - Jassim Al Sahih- Saudi Arabia.
4 - Rawdha Al Haj - Sudan.
5 - Tamim Al Barghouti - Palestine.

Second Season:

1 - Prince of Poets: Sidi Ould Bamba - Mauritania.
2 - Mohammed Ibrahim Yacoub - Saudi Arabia.
3 - Ahmed Bakhit - Egypt.
4 - Muhannad Sari - Jordan.
5 - Adi Ould Adba - Mauritania.

Third Season:

1 - Prince of Poets: Hassan Baiti - Syria.
2 - Bassam Salih Mahdi - Iraq.
3 - Turki Abdul Ghani - Jordan.
4 - Walid Al Sarraf - Iraq.
5 - Hikmat Hassan Jomaa- Syria.

Fourth Season:

1 - Prince of Poets: Abdul Aziz Al Zarai - Yemen.
2 - Hisham Al Jakh - Egypt.
3 - Mountazar Al Moussawi - Oman.
4 - Najah Al Arsan - Iraq.
5 - Mohammed Hijazi - Jordan.

Fifth Season:

1 - Prince of Poets: Dr. Alaa Janib - Egypt.
2 - Yahya Wahhash - Yemen.
3 - Sheikh Walad Bilamash - Mauritania.
4 - Hisham Al Saghri - Sultanate of Oman.
5 - Mohammed Abu Shararah - Saudi Arabia.

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