DUBAI // Her parents are Lebanese, she is fiercely proud of her Arabic culture, she grew up in the Arab world and she speaks Arabic with her family at home. Despite all this, Sarah Snowneil Ali feels most comfortable expressing herself in English.
She is one member of a generation of Arabs born and bred in the UAE who communicate in foreign languages so often that they are more familiar with them than their native tongues.
Miss Ali, 23, has a full-time job in marketing, but she is a passionate poet who writes in English and dedicates her free time and money to giving herself, and others like her, a voice.
In December, she launched a project called Atelier Poetica, and is focusing on publishing Arab authors who write in a foreign language.
"There is a whole generation of people like me who are Arabs but who think, read and write in English or French and have nowhere to go to fulfil themselves creatively," she said.
"I am very Arab and I love my culture and my religion, but I don't know what it is about English words ... when I put them together I see beauty. An image appears in my mind and the combination of words becomes beautiful."
Through Atelier Poetica she wants to bring about change in the industry by alerting publishers to the talents of her generation.
Alongside a poetry group from Beirut called Poeticians, she has organised poetry readings in Dubai at the community art space The Shelter, and last month released her first anthology of poetry - The Flower Girl.
"I paid for it all myself and hand-painted the artwork on each cover," she said while holding the slim brown volume decorated with a purple flower on its cover.
"It is a chapbook, the first completed by Atelier Poetica."
Chapbooks are paperback booklets of poems, songs or religious doctrines that were first circulated in England before the publishing industry was fully established. Miss Ali said they are the perfect format for her art.
"It sounds old fashioned, but it is just a way of doing things independently, making things happen for yourself," she said. "In the Arab world there really isn't support for people like me. If you wait for an Arab publisher to pick you up you will be waiting forever. They do not scout out quality work, at least not in foreign languages, and I don't want to reach out to America or the UK for publishers because my poems are related to here; the language, the themes are all Arab and relevant to the Arab world."
Sultan al Amimi, the director of the Poetry Academy in Abu Dhabi, said he didn't think there was a strong market for non-Arabic poetry in the Gulf region.
"In my opinion, even young people who can read and write in English prefer to read Arabic poems, because of the language and cultural connotations which can't be found in other languages. I don't think non-Arabic poetry will be very successful here."
Miss Ali has been writing poetry for as long as she has been able to write, and said it helped her deal with personal and political situations.
"Emotions are easier to deal with once you write them down, and with poetry you can also give them beauty," she said.
In The Flower Girl she writes about love, anger and resolve and describes the heat of the UAE and the atrocities of war, among other thoughts and images.
One poem, "Back to the Ground", opens with: Blood coated on a blanket. Wrapped is the child / in paleness / powder stillness / from a bed of rubble / he will not awake.
It is about the conflict in Gaza that broke out in December 2008.
"I have grown up with war in and around my home country," she said.
"But poetry can make even that beautiful. I don't mean in the conventional way, but as soon as you write it down you can give justice to the event and so give it beauty."
Distribution of The Flower Girl is Miss Ali's largest challenge, but the book is being sold at The Shelter and in several outlets in Beirut. She has two or three poets lined up for the next Atelier Poetica publication, and encourages any other writers to follow in her footsteps.
"I would say to anyone reading this to take action. Do it yourself. Do not wait for avenues to open up. Every writer wants to be published, so if you don't find an outlet, then why not create it yourself? It is hard work, but it is well worth it."
@Email:aseaman@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
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Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
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Director: Laxman Utekar
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
