Renaissance in Arabian Gulf poetry

 Thanks in large part to the show, the last decade has witnessed a major renaissance in Arabian Gulf poetry, the region's premier art form, and ordinary people and governments a like have started to realise the importance of safe-guarding their cultural heritage.

"The Gulf generally has moved fantastically quickly and many people feel a lot has been lost, old buildings knocked down and poetry put on one side" commented Prof. Holes.

"Now they regret it and realise this is what made them who they are, so they are on a voyage of self-rediscovery. Million's Poet is a reassertion of identity, this is why it is popular."

Being a poet in the Gulf is not so much a job as a pastime, anyone can do it as long as they have the talent, and all kinds of people do. Several ruling family members are noted poets including Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid of Dubai.

 Poet and Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed 

Historically the poet's job was not to express his or her own views so much as advocate those of their tribe or community. Today Nabati poetry has transformed from an inter-tribal medium into a powerful contemporary means of making social or political criticism and commentary about the nation-state.

It is a remarkably democratic means by which anyone, from prince to pauper, can win influence and - in the case of Million's Poet – a lot of money too.

Poetry on state-run TV shows tends to be fairly anodyne with a rose-tinted view on events past and present, but home produced poetry audio-recordings which circulate widely inside Gulf countries often contain much edgier content.

"Poetry used to be a means for tribes to converse and sometimes wars over poetry could turn into real wars" commented Prof. Holes. "Nowadays poetry is used to address social issues, for example criticising consumerism or intermarriage with foreigners and sometimes for making oblique criticism about those in power."

The wild success of the show is the crowning achievement in the extraordinary development of the media that has occurred in the Arabian Gulf.

100 years ago poetry in the Gulf was still being composed and transmitted in a way similar to how myths and legends were recounted in northern Europe around the 6th century AD.

Cultural Awakening

Fifty ago the UAE was still so beset with illiteracy that ruler Sheikh Shakboot would summon his court reader whenever he needed something read.

Fast forward to 2012 and Dubai's Media City has become a regional media hub hosting more than 1300 media companies and Abu Dhabi has invested billions in state of-the-art media facilities in its 200,000 square metre Media Zone attracting many of the world's best known international media organizations.

 Extraordinary development of media 

The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority which oversees "Millions' Poet runs several other media projects including the Kalima translation project and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.

The Abu Dhabi Media Company owns several radio and TV channels, a stable of magazines and radio stations, as well as the Gulf's leading English-language newspaper.

Last month its subsidiary Imagination, launched in 2008 with access to more than $1 billion to fund making movies and computer games, won an Oscar at the 84th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles for the movie "The Help" which it co-produced.

Hugh Miles is a writer and journalist living in Cairo. His books include Al-Jazeera: How Arab TV News Challenged the World and Playing Cards in Cairo.