JEDDAH, 9 April 2007 — Coming near the end of their cultural season, the “Poetry Group” at the Jeddah Literary Club will add a visual arts aspect to their usual poetry readings.
Tomorrow night along with three poetry readings, a visual presentation on the relation between poetry and fine arts will be delivered by the former president of the House of Artists in Jeddah, Saleh Bogari.
Poetry lovers will be invited to consider the beginnings of the bond between words that rhyme and other forms of fine arts, whether paintings, sculptures or others. “The correlation between poets and artists is an ancient one. Since the days of the Greeks and Romans, finely crafted sculptures moved poets who were enchanted by them and who improvised verses,” explained Bogari.
At tomorrow’s presentation, he will include famous paintings by Pablo Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci and others that have triggered many poets to produce works of arts in response to visual ones.
The three poets, two men and a woman, who will read their poems are Ali Al-Mankouta, Mohammad Abu Shararah and a Syrian poet living in Jeddah, Thekra Alhaj Hosaini.
The “Poetry Group” president Ahmad Qarran said that almost all the poetry readings that have been given so far have attracted a large audience although the main interest in Saudi Arabia is fiction. The president said, “Fiction is more popular but poetry readings attract more attention. Poetry still has mass appeal.”
The group’s last poetry reading will be on May 13. The famous Saudi poet and human rights activist, Ali Al-Domaini, from the Eastern Province, has been invited to talk about his poetry and of course read his poems. Al-Domaini is considered one of the main voices in Saudi contemporary modernist poetry.
Tomorrow’s reading begins at 9 p.m. at the club premises on the Corniche. The reading is open to men and women in separate sections. The club’s phone number is 60766122.
