Sidelight: Poetic injustice: Man thrashed for seeking fees

TAIF: A well-known poet was beaten up and thrown out of his wealthy patron’s house after demanding payment for the eulogies he wrote about him, Al-Shams daily reported on Sunday. To add insult to injury, the poet was only paid SR200 for his literary services. He demanded the patron return all poems received, claiming the man did not deserve them. The poet also told a crowd of neighbors who had gathered around him in front of the house that he was told to recite poems praising the patron at public functions.