DUBAI, 18th May, 2020 (WAM) — The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, in cooperation with the Sultan bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation, organized an interactive session titled “The Reader and the Arabic Novel” for the second year in a row, in the context of discussing the short-listed novels for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.
The session was attended by high-level reading clubs from the UAE, namely, the “Reports Forum”, “Read Forum”, “Cultural Forum Salon”, “Literary Forum Salon” and “Knowledge Rest – Sharjah”, in addition to a group of distinguished readers from the reading clubs spread throughout the country. Country.
The sessions of the interactive day witnessed a large audience of interested, intellectuals and public figures, led by His Excellency Jamal bin Huwaireb, Executive Director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, who praised this annual initiative, which is held in cooperation between the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation and the Sultan bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation, which reflects Fruitful cooperation between knowledge institutions within the UAE and expanding the base of interest, especially in the world of reading, which the wise leadership attaches a lot of attention to and allocates national projects and initiatives in general.
The participants discussed the Arabic novels that were included in the short list of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, where the sessions varied based on the choices of the reading clubs and were as follows: the novel “The Stone of Happiness” by Azhar Zarzis, “Read Book Forum in Dubai.” The session included Dr. Maha Shaker and Abdullah Al-Shuwaikh And Hafsa Harika and the novel “Qurena Eduardo Concerto” by writer Najwa Bin Shatwan, “Knowledge Rest House – Sharjah”, and the session included Lana Al-Qattan and Heba Al-Dezdar.
The novel “Manna” by the writer Siddiq Haj Ahmed “The Salon of the Literary Forum” was discussed, and the session included Asmaa Siddiq, Hanadi Al-Ghazawi and Saadia Al-Badi, and the novel “The Westernization of Al-Qafir” by the writer Zahran Al-Qasimi “The Salon of the Cultural Forum”, where the session included Aisha Sultan and Dr. Maryam Al-Hashemi and a novel ” The Days of the Rising Sun” by writer Miral El-Tahawy “Knowledge Rest – Dubai” The session included the critic Dr. Barwin Habib, the writer Salha Obaid and Rola Al-Banna, and the novel “The Higher Horizon” by the writer Fatima Abdel-Hamid “The Forum of Narrators”. Sharif and Kenana Issa.
The papers presented in the session dealt with each novel separately, indicating its strengths, language, and method of description. A number of participants indicated that each novel was eligible to win the award, as it stems from a diverse and rich world that has a lot of privacy. Dr. Jamal Muqabla, Professor of Modern Literature and Criticism, Department of Arabic Language, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, concluded the interactive day sessions, which lasted from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., with a concluding paper that collected recommendations and comments on the nominated novels.
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