In the last quarter of 1991, the Board of Trustees endorsed a working plan to issue "Albabtain Encyclopaedia of Contemporary Arab Poets". Consequently, the special decision was promulgated to form the Encyclopaedia panel and the editing bureau, in accordance with the Encyclopaedia’s main objective.
As an extension of this evident celebration of poetry, the pinnacle of Arab arts and creativity, and in continuation of the literary works revolving around Arab poets that have preserved for us examples of their poetry, comes the "Albabtain Encyclopaedia of Contemporary Arab Poets", which we present to you now.
This Encyclopaedia is part of the series of publications by the Foundation of Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Prize for Poetic Creativity, and it is the first comprehensive work that the Foundation undertakes to produce and compile in an innovative manner never before seen.
It is based on field research conducted by a wide network of representatives and through direct communication with poets, where their biographies were collected, and they themselves chose the poetic samples they believe best represent their poetic artistry.
If there is a distinguishing feature of this Encyclopaedia compared to others and the previously mentioned literature, it is its comprehensiveness and inclusiveness. It encompasses biographies and selected works of Arab poets both within and outside the Arab world, without limiting its efforts to a specific geographic region.
It does not interfere with the personal information in the biographies, instead leaving it to the poets themselves to write their own biographies and choose the poems that represent them.
Our technical team focused on unifying the style and removing unnecessary details from the biographies, including only essential information. The selected poems conform to general standards and allow for a wide range of poetic expression.
It is the second encyclopedia in the series of Albabtain encyclopedias, and this particular encyclopedia is devoted to presenting the biographies of poets who passed away during the 19th and 20th centuries. It completes the movement of documenting the poetic landscape in the modern era after the first encyclopedia, titled "Albabtain Encyclopedia of Contemporary Arab Poets," which covered the living poets.
The preparation of this encyclopedia began in 1997, with the formation of the Advisory Board, which represented various regions of the Arab world. Additionally, an editorial team was established, along with the working group at the General Secretariat of the Foundation. A work plan was developed to guide the collection and editing of the scholarly material.
The collection of scholarly material for this encyclopedia relied on researchers from various Arab and Islamic countries, with a total of five hundred researchers contributing to its preparation.
These researchers relied on published poetic works from books, journals, and university dissertations. They also conducted field research, engaging with the families, relatives, friends, and acquaintances of the poets.
This Encyclopedia was published in 2008 in twenty-five volumes, and the Foundation dedicated its eleventh session to celebrate its release in Kuwait.
Albabtain Encyclopedia of Arab Poets in the Era of States and Emirates (656-1215 AH / 1258-1800 AD)
This Encyclopedia is the third in the ambitious cultural project of Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Cultural Foundation aimed at documenting the poetic scene across vast time and space.
The Encyclopedia includes biographies and poetic samples of 9,462 poets who lived during the referenced period, regardless of whether they were Arabs or non-Arabs, and regardless of the quantity of their poetry.
It was published in 25 volumes, each consisting of 656 large-sized pages, making it a precedent in its field.