'Treasure of the Generation' is the 'Oscar of Culture,' and the most important award supporting Nabati poetry in the region. Last night, at the Al-Muajiri Palace, a poetry evening was held as part of the 'Poetry Nights: The Sung Word' program, within the framework of the 2025 Al Ain Book Festival, for the Kuwaiti poet, Hamid Zaid, the winner of the 'Treasure of the Generation' award for the Poetry Publications category for his collection 'Remain a Mountain.' He ignited the audience's enthusiasm by reciting poems that found their way into the hearts of those present. The poet, who is considered one of the most prominent poetic voices in the region, shone while reciting some of his most beautiful poems, offering an evening that expressed various meanings of belonging to the homeland, love, praise, masculinity, and chivalry in a romantic style and a distinctive approach in the field of Nabati poetry. At the beginning of the evening, the poet expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center, which granted him the valuable 'Treasure of the Generation' award, which he described as the 'Oscar of Culture,' considering it the most important award supporting culture and poetry in the region, before embarking on a space of the sweetness of the word, the lightness of the weight, and dedicating a national poem to the leadership of the United Arab Emirates and its people on the occasion of the 54th Union Day, in which he said:
'In a night that preserves for us our generations and adds what the terrible memories have preserved, a flag fluttered that united the sea and the countryside, and united the seven peoples with its fluttering, the story of the people's unity was a truth, and the story of their division became a ridiculous lie, loyalty is not tales and compositions, nor is it read in a newspaper, a people whose attributes resemble their ruler, and shares with him the love of the country equally, as if they were nothing but two lovers, and more affectionate from a loving heart. The sweet poetry continued during the evening presented by the Emirati poet and media figure, Obaid bin Qadhan Al Mazroui, for the poet Hamid Zaid to charm the audience with a selected collection of his most beautiful poems that dealt with the themes of love, praise, and the homeland, phrased in expressions that carry the meanings of honor and dignity, and touched the feelings of the large audience that came from various parts of the United Arab Emirates, and included a large number of poets, intellectuals, and lovers of popular poetry, in a clear indication of his status in the hearts of the members of the Emirati society. During the evening, the poet recited verses from his poems: 'My Problem,' 'Life Story,' 'The Poets,' as well as brilliantly presenting the poem 'I Prove to You the Truth!' and 'Why Did You Turn Away From Me?', concluding with reciting his famous poem 'Remain a Mountain,' one of the most important and beautiful poems in his latest collection, which bore the same name, for which he won the 'Treasure of the Generation' award. The poem deals in its content with steadfastness and strength, as the poet decides to be strong and steadfast as a mountain that the winds cannot shake, and said:
'For I am a mountain, and the wind does not shake the mountain, my will bumps into great ambitions, I overthrow the standing, and if I rise, I do not overthrow him, if a day comes and I overthrow, the overthrown will rise.' The evening garnered significant interest from the public, reflecting the UAE society's interest in popular poetry, which is a mirror to their dreams and a source of their ambitions, and embodies the status of this type of literary art that is passed down through generations, and the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center is keen to revive it and enhance its position in the national cultural landscape.
Hamid Zaid:
