Gulf News reports on the ‘Prince of Poets’ competition—a TV show along the lines of ‘American (or other) Idol’—putting poets, their work, and their recitation against each other in a race for votes from the viewing public. The Washington Post notes the competition in a brief item today as well.

Much has been written about the importance of poetry in Arab culture and the development of the Arabic language. Here’s the Wikipedia entry, but there are hundreds of books on the topic. It’s not unnatural for someone to married the well-honed model of TV competitions to what’s seen as a cultural treasure. I doubt, though, that the program would have much appeal outside the region.

Stage set for final stage of contest

Abu Dhabi: The final stage of the Prince of Poets TV competition has arrived and the pool of contestants has been narrowed from thousands to 35 and finally to only six.

While five of the poets secured their spots last week, one remained in limbo as audience votes were tallied during the week from voting done by SMS. The lucky sixth contestant to join the finalists was Khalidiyah Gaballah from Algeria joining the remaining five on Thursday night’s episode of Prince of Poets aired live from the Al Raha Beach Theatre here.

The other five poets competing Thursday night were Adi Weld Adab from Mauritania, Ahmad Bekheit from Egypt, Seedi Mohammad Weld Bamba from Mauritania, Mohammad Ebrahim Yacoub from Saudi Arabia and Mohannad Sari from Jordan.
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If you’re not familiar with Arab poetry, Princeton University has a website with examples. [Click on a title/name in the left column of the page.] The text of the poems is provided in Arabic (and, if you wish, with English translation) while it is being recited. The six examples are typical of Arab poetry, ranging from Umr Al-Qays to Muttanabi, with a couple of examples from Abu Nawas, the bad boy of Arabic poetry as well as a Sufi poem. I suspect most of these examples are not what would be chosen by any Gulf Arab government, but they are considered classic by most Arabs.