Among his various interests in the fields of literature and his responsibilities as founder and executive director of the House “Al-Hudhud” and “Al-Louha” for publishing and distribution, and his active membership in the Emirates Writers Union, Emirati Ali Al-Shaali distributes his concerns among the fields of poetry and novel and publishing management for children and adults and judging the “Arab Reading Challenge”, to accompany it By overseeing the competitions of the Dubai International Poetry Festival, in which he remained adjacent to the word "to consolidate knowledge, spread literature and confirm the few contributions to the great cultural and enlightening project that the UAE has carried," says Al Shaali.
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The Emirati novelist and publisher stops when he participates in the "Emirates Airline Festival of Literature" this year, to indicate his involvement in two sessions. The first was devoted to discussing his latest version of "The Living Neighborhood", a novel with an important historical axis and scientific and global dimensions, which realized the long list of Sheikh Zayed Book Award, and from Then his second participation “in a session discussing the role of literary editing in the production and development of Arabic texts, its importance and extent of effectiveness”, pointing to the successful options that organizers have devoted to choosing axes after “the absence of editing from many Arab texts today or its timid presence, which makes these The texts and works seem like ripe fruits, but they are bitter for lack of maturity. ”
On the other hand, Al-Shaali draws attention to the opportunities presented by the festival to the public, as some international writers hosted by the festival can not be met or followed up in a direct conversation only rarely, and the issue applies to Arab and local writers who are keen to participate in the international festival platform that enjoys With extensive media coverage, he continued, "As an interested in literature and publisher, I am not wasting this opportunity that may result in partnerships for new creations in the future."
Noble industry
On the publishing houses that the writer actively contributed to establishing, in light of the constant talk about the public’s reluctance to read, and the exacerbation of digital and social media’s dominance over public interests, al-Shaali admits that publishing is not an easy profession, and statistics may not be in their favor when compared to areas Others, however, the passion motivates the publisher to continue its cultural and knowledge project, pursuing "the special reading needs of every society and culture that will continue to inject life into the veins of this noble industry." On this occasion, I cannot fail to thank the Emirati Publishers Association and its founder, Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi and her successful team, for the consolidation of the pillars of publishing and the endeavor to increase awareness of the importance of circulating authentic and good content, in addition to activating continuous campaigns to raise awareness among individuals and institutions of the components of this industry locally and in the Arab And globally, ”stressing that“ reading is fine, in every age there was something distracting from reading, and if the means of communication now compete with the book on the recipient’s time, then it is also a window through which the writer talks directly to the reader, and the publisher can display new titles and To define them across these platforms with widespread ».
Knowledge retreat
Despite his preoccupation with multiple administrative tasks, Al Shaali confirms his emptiness for intermittent weeks every year for reading, researching and writing, and allocating an area for the first morning of work days to read in its various forms. “I have hours of knowledge retreat on Friday and Saturday, and I occupy it with various activities of meditation, reading, watching documentaries and enjoying books, except I became convinced that the serious in his literary project can continue to produce whatever the circumstances. ”Following up on what I mentioned is a preoccupation with administrative tasks and reviewing texts within the supervision of the publishing house is nothing but an enrichment of the life and cognitive experience. War empty life of everything except read and write, you have to be the first man to be a successful writer of the public ». On the other hand, al-Shaali sees that poetry is still able to compete literally and massively in the age of the Internet and open space to all negative and positive options in the world of writing and new literary attempts, saying: “It is not the task of poetry to compete, it is dear that only comes to those who wanted it, reading or writing And, through our reading of the texts of the first two Arabs and international poets, the good is Khaled, who crosses the boundaries of time and space, and how many poets underestimate his era, then his texts grabbed generations later. But if you are worried about poetry, it is the receding of language and poetic taste. ”
Permanent development
Al-Shaali is eager to describe the mass interaction with the festival’s sessions and activities over its previous sessions, stressing: “The festival has succeeded from its early years to be a milestone in the history of culture and literature in the UAE and the region, and the more interest in the Arab writer and book, the more we are satisfied with the absorption and presentation of this global event by our culture. For the recipient ”and“ Although Dubai is a first-class business city, and its inhabitants are the majority of them as well, the public turnout according to what we see in the corridors of the festival, and according to the figures announced by the organizing committee, predicts a positive change towards the readable culture, but I am looking to involve Arab schools More, and I know that the festival is always striving to develop ».
“We are witnessing a remarkable recovery in all cultural fields at the UAE level.”
- "The book and publishing are thriving, and the means of communication are the writer's window on the reader."