New anthology compiles the best of Emirati poetry
When Rashid Sharar was a teenager, he would compose poetry on pieces of paper and then carefully 
stash them away.
Having lost his mother at the age of seven, he started writing when he was in middle school.
“I would hide it all under my bed so my father wouldn’t find it,” he said. “I was worried he would become upset with me, thinking I was playing around.”
Then one day he returned home to discover his father had discovered his secret hoard.
“He was illiterate, so he didn’t know what they were. When his friend read them out, he said, ‘Your son is a poet’.”
Now aged 53, Mr Sharar has, indeed, grown into a renowned poet and an Emirati idol, equally admired by the late Sheikh Zayed, the nation’s founding father, and his sons, Sheikh Khalifa, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, and Sheikh Mohammed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
He also holds a special place in the lives of many ordinary Emiratis, most of whom grew up watching him present popular poetry on television.
Recently nominated to head a poetry centre in Sharjah under the auspices of Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed, Ruler of Sharjah, Mr Sharar was among the first to be contacted last year to take part in a project to mark National Day.
The Ministry of Culture asked Mr Sharar to write a poem for the country, and he was one of the few on a list of high-profile Emirati poets to quickly say: “Of course.”
The idea was to publish an anthology of poetry to mark National Day. The book, entitled In Our Songs, includes poems from 63 established and young poets. Last month, it became available free of charge at libraries and cultural centres as well as Ministry offices.
“The idea was to get original pieces from Emirati poets,” said Fatma al Maamari, the anthology’s editor.
“With all due respect, some of the prominent poets we contacted felt it was beneath them to contribute to an anthology. Or they said they didn’t have the time.”
For Mr Sharar, a retired military man and a father of eight boys and a girl, contributing to the work was an honour. He has been producing and presenting cultural heritage programmes on television for the past 25 years, and today fronts a show called Beit al Qasid, or The House of Song, on Sama Dubai.
Shortly after his debut on television, he was contacted by Sheikh Zayed, who asked the poet to attend majlis and deliver his prose. That was the beginning of a long friendship, said Mr Sharar.
“He used to call me up and say, ‘Listen, listen. They’re using your words,’ whenever he heard a singer use lyrics from my poems,” said Mr Sharar… He explains how Nabati poetry, his favourite form of self-expression, is special. Nabati prose uses colloquial Arabic as opposed to classical or modern standard.
“Nabati poetry feels the pulse of the street. It’s the official spoken word of the people, and it delivers the message quickly. It’s the language I use when I speak to my mother.
“When the Government is uncertain about what its people are going through, and the troubles they’re facing, all it has to do is listen to Nabati poems. That tells them what’s on the minds and in the hearts of everyday people.”… SOURCE
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