Prepared by / Abdullah Al-Samti 

The Arab celebration of poetry has not stopped since its dawn more than 200 years before the coming of Islam. It is a celebration linked to the Arabic tongue and Arabic eloquence, which was able to transform daily life prose into an art with its own rhetorical and aesthetic rules and principles. A large number of poets from various tribes and backgrounds were able to depict Arab life throughout history, and poetry became the first art of the Arabs, and the "Diwan of the Arabs" that records glories, exploits, and events. According to the saying of the Rashidun Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab: "The Arabs will not leave poetry until the camel leaves its longing," which is a visionary and truthful saying, because poetry is still close to the life of the Arab person even today, whether it advances or retreats artistically, but it has not and will not disappear, because it is linked to history, destiny, culture and identity. 

According to the poet's saying:

If it were not for the qualities established by poetry... the builders of glory would not know from where the noble deeds come. 

Who leads the ship of Arabic poetry today? And to where? 

Joining us here are the poet Hamad Al-Asous, the poet Dr. Hind Al-Mutairi, the poet Dr. Abdulmohsen Al-Haqeel, and the poet Mufleh bin Matar Al-Shammari..

At the beginning, the poet Hamad Al-Asous Al-Khalidi speaks, raising the question: Who leads the ship of contemporary Arabic poetry, and to where...?!

- This question - in my view - is the most important and most obligatory question that should be raised in our current stage about contemporary Arabic poetry.
In light of the absence of the most prominent stars of Arabic poetry, new brilliant names that enjoy consensus on their distinction and can occupy the forefront and lead the ship of poetry no longer appear on the horizon of the Arabic poem.
In light of other factors that you pointed out in the introduction to the survey, such as: the absence of critical accompaniment to the movement of poetry, the fragmentation of the poetic community or the poetic family among the forms of the poem, and the crowding out of other literary forms such as the novel and the short story, as well as folk poetry.
All these discouraging factors led to:

1- The retreat of the eloquent poetic tide and its containment in narrow corners..
2- Frustrating poets and discouraging their determination, and the failure of new distinguished names to emerge in the space of Arabic poetry..
3- The lack of interest of cultural institutions, book fairs, and publishing houses in poets and poetic production..
4- The lack of demand for acquiring and purchasing new poetic publications at both the official and public levels..

 Based on this sad reality, I say with all regret:
Arabic poetry is living through its worst stages and states, and there are no qualified bodies or poets qualified to lead its ship..

But I also say: Perhaps it is an emergency state that will pass, and then the glow, influence, and value of poetry will return, and poets will regain their status, importance, and prominence in the space of occasions, events, and activities..

The poet and academic at King Saud University, Dr. Hind Abdulrazak Al-Mutairi, says: It seems to me that poetry has begun to stagger, and may fall in the near future. I do not know if neglect and disregard have made it dizzy, or if it has been hit by a surfeit of feeling full, or if the dominance of the phenomenon of (poet-critics) has begun to threaten it! We all realize that poetry is an art, and that arts have a life cycle, in which there is a naive childhood, a young youth, and also a stage of old age and decrepitude. We also realize that talking about poetry is not talking about one genre, no matter how possible that seems. Poetry consists of arts and genres, some of which are still living in their youth stage, enjoying the advantages of that stage, such as fame, continuity and spread, while others have passed away and others are waiting. When we talk about the folk poem and the sung poem, we are talking about a vital genre, repeated on the tongues of adults and children, and means of communication contribute to its rapid transmission between nations and peoples.