Prince of Poets (2007)

Genre

reality television

Country

United Arab Emirates

How it feels

A reality TV competition from the United Arab Emirates where poets from across the Arab world perform and improvise poems. A jury scores the entries and viewers vote for their favorites. The winner receives a cash prize, a cloak, and a ring.

livecompetitivecelebratoryformalengagingaudience-drivenintellectualuplifting

What happens

Prince of Poets is a reality television poetry competition on the Emirati television network Abu Dhabi TV. It was created in April 2007 by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, and airs live from the Al Raha Beach theatre every week. The winner is awarded one million dirhams and a symbolic cloak and ring. Reflecting the pre-eminence of poetry in the Arab world, the programme's ratings overtook those of football and of other reality television programmes, with a studio audience of thousands and a television audience of millions. Its title comes from the epithet of Arabic-language epic poet Ahmed Shawqi. Thousands of aspiring poets from all over the Arab world submit their poems, and several dozen are chosen to compete. In the competition, contestants read their poems, and are also asked to improvise poems on various subjects. A jury of established poets and critics judges and offers feedback on the entries, while the studio audience and viewers at home can also vote for their preferred poets. Despite the show's title, the contestants can be male or female. Prince of Poets Xtra, the programme's interview segment, airs after each episode. Prince of Poets is similar to another Emirati poetry competition, Million's Poet; the latter promotes Nabati (Bedouin) poetry, while the former promotes classical Arabic poetry and is an attempt to revive it in modern society. Like Million's Poet, it has been compared to American Idol. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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