Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Cultural Foundation is preparing to host the 11th edition of the Arab Poetry Spring Festival in March, under the gracious patronage of His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister. This season of the festival will be dedicated to honoring the two distinguished poets, Dr. Suad Al-Sabah from Kuwait and Dr. Thuraya Al-Urayyedh from Saudi Arabia, and will take place at the Albabtain Central Library for Arab Poetry. The festival will feature poetry evenings with poets from various Arab countries, two seminars celebrating the honored poets, and a book exhibition.

         Poet Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain, Chairman of the Foundation, expressed the Foundation's appreciation for the esteemed patronage of His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, who has been supporting the festival since its inception, acknowledging the importance of culture in societal development.

         Albabtain emphasized the significance of selecting Dr. Suad Al-Sabah and Dr. Thuraya Al-Urayyedh as the honorees of this edition, as they are distinguished poets with significant cultural contributions. He further explained that for eleven years, the Foundation has been celebrating poetry, aligning its activities with World Poetry Day, as proclaimed by UNESCO.

         The event will also include the awarding of prizes to the poets and critics who have won the Foundation's awards in its 16th edition, including Moroccan poet Omar Raji for his poem "Light Mail," Saudi poet Abdullatif bin Yusuf Al-Mubarak for his collection "Visions," Syrian poet Marwa Halawa for her poem "My Gaze into My Soul," Egyptian poet Ahmed Antar Mustafa for his collection "Thus Spoke Al-Mutanabbi," Egyptian critic Dr. Fawzi Saad Issa for his book "Poetic Text and Aesthetics of Reception," Egyptian critic Dr. Abdulrahman Abdulsalam Mahmoud for his book "The Temptation of Interpretation: Al-Mutanabbi... from Text to Discourse," and a tribute award to the late poet Farouk Shousha.

         Albabtain added, "This festival is in line with the goals of the Foundation, which was initially established with a focus on poetry before expanding its endeavors and launching globally into the realms of intercultural dialogue and peace advocacy. However, it has always maintained its role in supporting poetry and poets, recognizing that poetry is one of the most significant streams of the Arabic language that the Foundation values. Moreover, the Foundation has employed poetry for peace, whether through specially organized festivals or through the publication of 'The Arab Epic for Peace,' which comprises four thousand verses composed by 113 poets from various corners of the Arab world."