The wonder and beauty of Arabic poetry was in the spotlight at the 41st Sharjah International Book Fair, when UAE-based poets Amal Al Sahlawi and Lorca Spiti took the stage to entertain the fair audience with their poignant and expressive poems.

Opening the panel discussion, the session moderator Emirati poetess and scholar Najat Al Dhaheri, said that to understand the value of poetry, one has to enter into it quietly with the heart. Promising an evening full of poetic brilliance, she pointed out that life is never beautiful without the element of poetry in it. 'Human beings are born to fly into the skies, but the audience would be able to do so through words,' said Al Dhaheri.

Of the two poets who presented their works, Al Sahlawi, touched on themes of sorrow and despair, regret, the game of life, luck, and fortune. The audience applauded as the poetess contemplated life lived in the margins, the curiosity of the soul, and of living in her imagination.

Spiti, a Lebanese poetess, who has six published collections of poetry and is releasing a new collection on November 18, said that “through the medium of poetry, we are more free than in reality.”

Spiti recited a poem praising the city of Sharjah, its beauty and charms, from its small cafes to its resting places for seagulls and as the meeting place of poetry.