Aousha Al-Suwaidi is one of the pioneers of poetry and a milestone in the march of Nabati poetry

"Google" celebrates "Arab Girl"... the Emirati poet who swallowed the moon

The emoji that topped the global search engine «Google» on Monday.

Emirates today

Yesterday, Monday, November 28, the global search engine "Google" celebrated the Emirati poet Awsha Al-Suwaidi, nicknamed "The Girl of the Arabs", who is considered one of the pioneers of Nabati poetry in the UAE and the Arab region, and a milestone in the march of Nabati poetry, as her image topped the search's main page.

And "Arab Girl" is the Emirati poet Aisha bint Khalifa bin Ahmed bin Khalifa Al Suwaidi, who was born in 1920 in Al Muwaiji, Al Ain, and spent most of her life there.

Ousha grew up in a house of knowledge and religion, and men of knowledge and sheikhs did not leave her father's council. At the age of 12, she began writing poetry, and composed 100 measured poems in about a month.

Arab Girl Diwan

Al-Suwaidi was initially known as the “Girl of the Gulf” until His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, called her the “Girl of the Arabs”, after honoring and awarding her the Medal of the Principality of Poetry in the World of Popular Poetry in 1989. Where His Highness gave her a diwan, which she issued as a dedication, in which he said:

I sent you a Diwan, O Most High

A collection of proverbs that he paid

Contains proverbs from Kamal from Zan

It is every turn in his contracts Nddha

Arab girl and you have the best address

And without you with the intention of seeking meanings

The late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, described it in his poem as one of the pillars of poetry, in which he said:

Oh corner Oud fancy and art

Shagni generation Balasafi

poetic tender

Poet Awsha bint Khalifa Al Suwaidi won the Abu Dhabi Award at its fifth session in 2009 in recognition of her efforts and poetic giving, as she contributed to bringing the Emirati poem to new horizons of spread. Her poems are also considered witness to great historical social and literary transformations in the Emirates in particular, the Gulf and the Arabs in general.

In addition, the Emirati song, through its poems, was widely spread, and its lyrics were sung by many artists, such as Jaber Jassim, Ali bin Rogha, Mehd Hamad, and many others.

During her career, Aousha Al-Suwaidi presented many poems in various fields of poetry, such as spinning, social criticism, praise, and Islamic studies, and was influenced by Al-Majidi bin Dhaher and Al-Mutanabbi, as well as the great poets, such as the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ahmed Al-Kindi, Omair bin Rashid, and Saeed bin Hilal Al-Dhaheri, and she retired from poetry in the late nineties and continued to recite her poems in praise of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace.

“Girl of the Arabs” published her poems in many newspapers, magazines, and audiobooks. They were collected in the collection of “Girl of the Arabs” in 1990, by the poet Hamad bin Khalifa Bushhab, of which a second edition was published in 2000.

Eternal memory

Aousha Al Suwaidi died in July 2018 in Dubai at the age of 98, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum mourned her, in a tweet he posted on his account on the social networking site "Twitter", in which he said: "The homeland has lost a great symbol in literature, wisdom and poetry. Awsha bint Khalifa Al-Suwaidi (the girl of the Arabs), may God have mercy on her.

And His Highness continued in the tweet: “The Arab girl left behind treasures of literature and poetry that will continue to tell her biography and carry her memory immortal in the pages of the homeland.”

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, mourned her in a tweet in which he said: “Our poetic scene has lost one of the greatest poets in our country.. Awsha bint Khalifa Al Suwaidi (Arab Girl), who was one of the pioneers of Nabati poetry. Emirati.

We ask God to bless the deceased with the abundance of his mercy and dwell her in the spaciousness of his gardens, and to inspire her family and relatives patience and solace.

Awsha and the moon

Among the funny stories that are told about the poet “The Girl of the Arabs”, who stopped writing the book in the nineties, is that she dreamed in her youth that the moon descended from the sky and swallowed it. The irony is that she died in conjunction with a rare lunar eclipse that will not be repeated in the current century again.

Award and honor

In honor of her status, in 2020, the Awsha Bint Khalifa Al Suwaidi Award was launched in its first session, under the slogan “It rhymes like a rock smooth”, as the award is considered an inspiring national cultural initiative, and a celebration of the centenary of the “Arab Girl”, within the framework of perpetuating her poetic legacy full of history and authentic local spirit. And the great vocabulary, which is an important linguistic reference for the people of the region in general, and for the people of the Emirates in particular.

The official sponsor of the award, businessman Khalaf Al Habtoor, and Chair of the Award's Board of Trustees, Dr. Rafia Ghobash, during the launch of the award. 

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