Dr. Shihab Ghanem – An Inspiration For Budding Poets

Dubai, UAE – 10^th February 2019 - The recently concluded, The Poetic Heart 2019 was not just a Poetry symposium but more. The auditorium was buzzing with people from different walks of life, different culture and nationalities, students from schools in UAE filled with excitement in anticipation of the session to follow. Amongst the esteemed audience was a person who caught my eye. He was Dr. Shihab Ghanem, an engineer by profession and a poet by passion.

A poet for over 50 years, Dr. Shihab Ghanem, is a UAE National and was the first Arab to win the Tagore Peace Prize in 2012. This is just one of the over 30 Awards that he has received in his journey as a poet. Dr.Ghanem is the pioneer and the inspiration behind The Poetic Heart, initiative. For the hundreds of students who filled the auditorium, this was the opportunity to see and hear the man, who is epitome of poetry in the region.

The Poetic Heart has grown over the years and poets across the world have been connected to the initiative with the efforts of Dr. Shihab Ghanem. Not only this, the platform provided to the School Poets in UAE to recite their poems with a distinguished line up of global poets is an experience to be treasured for life. Infact, some of the school poems were shortlisted by Dr.Ghanem, himself. Such is the passion of the man who is nearing 80 years. Looking at his youthful spirit, it was evident that for him age is just a number and he is nurturing the next generation of poets to continue his legacy of connecting the world through poetry.

He has published about 75 books in Arabic and English including 19 books of Arabic verse and 30 collection of translated verse, 13 of them from Arabic to English. Some of his poetry has been translated into 19 languages.

There are more than 20 songs by various singers including Sami Yousuf based on his poems. His latest translation into Arabic was Rabindranath Tagore’s iconic Bangla poem ‘ Ekla Cholo Re’ which means ‘Walk Alone’ in English. The original poem in Bangla and Dr.Ghanem’s Arabic translation was rendered as a mesmerizing musical performance by renowned singers Deb Chakraborty and Janine Bensouda.

Dr.Shihab Ghanem is not just a poet but an institution inspiring budding poets in the region to connect the world, culture and humanity through poetry that speaks the universal language of Peace, Harmony, Friendship, beyond borders.

To conclude from one of his poems titled, O! Poetry ‘O poetry! You are for life, and not just for art’.