Spoken Word

Have you ever heard a poem performed live in such a way that it captured your whole attention?

There are tons of amazing poetry performances in Arabic, both spoken and sung.

Al-Ta’shira

This is my all-time favorite spoken poem performance. Sorry, I don’t have time to translate it now…maybe later! The poet is Hesham El Gakh from Egypt, and the venue is Prince of Poets in the UAE, the biggest live Arabic poetry venue. It’s more competitive and high-profile than American Idol because it’s international, bringing together contestants from throughout the Arab World. The poem created quite a stir.

For anyone wanting a similar experience in English, I can recommend Palestinian-American poet Suheir Hammad here.

For sung poetry, there are quite a few famous poet-singer teams. Umm Kulthum sang poems by Mahmud Bayram El-Tunsi and other poets. For an example, check out Ana fi Intizarak / I’m Waiting for You, starting at 2:10. Lyrics in English and Arabic here.