Poetry and paint at The Space

Artist B'lu of Henosis today launched her grand solo exhibition, "Grandpa Says", in Abu Dhabi, with no less than the Ambassador of India snipping the ribbon. Spanning almost all of February and featuring a palette knife workshop run by the artist, works spanning diverse themes, sizes, and media adorned the display boards of The Space.

The artistic talent on display is evident in the attention to salient detail and the delicious harmony of colors, across works ranging from the very small to the very large. Some of my favorites were of the scenery perspectives: looking up into sky in a grove, or across a distant field at sunset, or down at reflections on a pond -- these are definitely her forte. A couple of paintings done in mainly grey, wintry tones stood out in particular.

Accompanying many of the paintings were short poems. Constructed mainly as narratives, these were notable for their simple flow and occasional colloquialisms that create a sense of intimacy.

Among other explorations of media, gold and coffee -- two among the most expensive commodities in the world, incidentally -- were used in a few works to very harmonious interplay of hue and luster.

Two new books for Dubai poetry fans

A busy season for the local poetry scene gave us book launches by two prolific Dubai-based poets: Frank Dullaghan's third title, The Same Roads Back, and Zeina Hashem Beck's award-winning debut title, To Live in Autumn. Following grand individual launch events, the poets held a joint reading session at DIFC's Bookshop readers' cafe.

After reading out a few of the most characteristic and/or popular poems from their portfolios, Frank and Zeina took questions from and discussed their art with attendees. Topics on the table included the characteristics of "good poetry", free verse vs. metre and rhyme, Zeina's peculiar but apparently effective multilingual composition technique, and some anecdotes and advice on getting published and getting feedback.

Zeina's poems lend themselves well to performance, specifically the creative punctuation and the repetition of words or lines for effect. It makes pleasant reading too, though. Generally more urban in context, the poems refer to colorful personalities, and paint you-had-to-be-there experiences, many of which seem tinged with nostalgia.

Frank's use of metaphorical flourish, combined with everyday language and attention to detail, paints lucid imagery of human and natural scenery, using such phrasing as "quality of light" and "green state of grace". One is easily transported one into the moment, into the perspective of observer or participant. The seemingly mundane is rendered intimate and significant.

The differences between the lived stories of a grey-bearded Irishman and a Lebanese woman who was a college student not long ago are evident in their respective books. There's also some overarching commonality in the use of free verse and vivid descriptions of personal observations. Both books will therefore appeal to fans of this style, while offering differences in content and delivery sufficient to warrant reading both.

The Empire of Miss Understanding

Clockwise from top left: Soans and Isis; Fernandez and Isis; Isis; Weber and Soans

An ensemble of local musical/lyrical talent, collaborating as "The Royal Court", joined cellist Isis M on her return to the Courtyard Playhouse today (and yesterday) for a unique performance entitled The Empire of Miss Understanding.

The show's pop-surreal theme graphic art -- also printed on the performers' clothes -- matched the abstract and metaphorical leanings of the lyrics and Maria Papadaki's video backdrop, in a setting that was subtly scenographed by Filipa Santos. After a couple of her solos, Isis was accompanied by Keigan Soans, Adam Weber, and Caroline Fernandez in several permutations, the latter adding vintage vocals and contemporary spoken word to her cello instrumental background, sometimes with a guitar layer.

The result was an intriguing spectacle of alt music and video art, unpretentious and often captivating. Vocals were good throughout, but in terms of lyrics, I especially liked the second half. The arrangement made excellent use of the range of the cello and the loop pedal, both as a solo instrument, and in combination with the other instruments and vocals.

Rooftop Rhythms Dubai

Part of the revamp of the Boutique 7 Hotel near where I live was a new urban music and dance basement lounge they named "ego". I wanted to check it out at some point, and having previously attended a Rooftop Rhythms spoken word event in Abu Dhabi, I made their third Dubai installment (bottom) the occasion to visit the venue. The place has a cool look and the music during the post-event regular Friday night program was quite good, so I stayed afterwards a bit longer than I had originally planned (top right).

The event itself was very entertaining, including performances by spoken word artists both established in and new to the art. Two of the highlights of the evening were performances by hip hop artist Marcel Lteif (top left) and Dana Dajani (top right). Other notable performances were the first by a Filipino artist at RR, as well as a musical intermission by a talented flautist (bottom left). It also happened to be birthday of RR's founder and emcee, Dorian Paul Rogers, so the evening featured a cake moment (bottom right).

From Page to Stage poetry workshop performance

(clockwise from top left) Zeina Hashem Beck; Frank Dullaghan; Marie Dullaghan; Rosine Saad; Lara Bogdanovic

Dubai-based poet and PUNCH founder, Zeina Hashem Beck, concluded her poetry workshop at The Courtyard Playhouse with a showcase performance at the venue. The small but enthusiastic class started with a group performance of Thomas Lux's Render Render and their own responses to it, followed by individual recitals ranging from witty observational to somber emotional. Another Dubai-based poet, Frank Dullaghan, headlined the event with readings of his own works, and Beck's love poem closed the event on a saccharine note.

Punch poetry open mic at BookMunch

Zeina Hashem Beck

Punch, the newest group to appear on the country's burgeoning spoken word scene, returned to BookMunch for a second open mic on Thursday. BookMunch had already served as a venue for a few poetry reading events since many months ago; it was much more densely packed this time than at the last poetry event I attended there, especially for a Thursday night.

Some of my favorite performances:

(L-R)  Hiba Rasheed; Danabelle Gutierrez; George Mitton

Organizer and emcee Zeina Hashem Beck introduced the event, and got the proceedings underway with recitations by a few established poets (including herself, and her lovely poem "Dance"), before handing the mic to the sign-ups - a mosaic of poets drawn from diverse nationalities, each performing their just-as-diverse pieces in under three minutes.

A lyrical PechaKucha Night Sharjah IV

Maraya Art Centre (pretty much the only reason I ever make the trip to Sharjah) hosted the 4th edition of the growing Sharjah PechaKucha this weekend.

The themes for presentations at the event ranged from inspirational to entrepreneurial to social, with speakers including hearing-disabled Emirati graphic designer Mariam Wissam, e-grocery app developer Ghadir El Ghafri, and crowd-sourced tourism promotion campaigner Yorgos Kleivokiotis.

There were also some rather entertaining, if strange, presentations by amateur comedians, including an awkward (self-referential, I'm guessing) presentation about awkwardness by Mohammed J Al Serkal, and a serious-sounding presentation about esoteric popcorn conspiracies by Rami Salame.

Farah Chamma and MC Yazen, local young stalwarts of spoken word currently promoting their upcoming North African crowd-funded tour, were also presenting that evening, and closed the event with a live performance of poetry and rap.

Verse, vibe and Will at Rooftop Rhythms #17

A strange confluence of non-events permitted me a Friday evening free enough to drive down to Abu Dhabi and join the wordsmiths of the city's Rooftop Rhythms at their 17th open mic, at the Hilton Capital Grand.

Dorian

The organizer/emcee, Dorian, kept the energy up with charm and (sometimes deliberately groansome) humor, and the DJ set the mood with some wonderfully bouncy tunes. The weather was pleasant enough for the outdoor poolside section of the rooftop bar venue to be opened up -- a good thing too, because a LOT of people turned up. A projector above the stage played a (slightly distracting when performances were in progress) slideshow of images from what I presume were past open mics.

Will McInerney

We listened to several spoken word pieces about family, technology, love, and such; many of these were very relatable and clever. A couple of my favorites were the ones about sibling relationships and the one about GPS (in the case of the latter, until it started getting preachy well beyond the ceremonial deism threshold). In addition to the spoken, some sung and others rapped, adding further diversity to the talent buffet. Visiting American spoken word celebrity Will McInerney was also at the event, and delighted us with a few intense performances.

BookMunch and a poetry reading

After a well-attended launch event last month, Poetician Rewa Zeinati hosted a reading and signing of her new book Nietzsche's Camel Must Die at BookMunch in Wasl Square last night.

Wasl Square is really convenient to find and get into, being located right opposite Safa Park and its ample parking space. I used a live map to find the venue, although projecting and/or clearer night signage would have helped.

The place has a playful and vibrant look on the inside, with a striking primary color scheme of green and magenta, patterned in classic houndstooth and pinstripe. Depending on whether one wants to eat, read, or do both, one can pick from among the seating options of chair, armchair and couch. Their book collection is fairly large, mixing a number of old literary hits with select contemporary reading. There's a good stock of kids' books too.

In a mood for a light supper, I consumed a delicious combination of a hearty, sharp harira soup with a salad pairing sweet slices of pear with pungent, salty lumps of gorgonzola.

Rewa read several notes from NCMD, signing books for, and taking questions from those who stayed after. The event was somewhat cozy, as we were well into a summertime Ramadan. Even so, there was plenty of animated post-reading talk among those in attendance.

Floetics spoken and sung at PizzaExpress JLT

Dana Dajani and Layla K

Dana Dajani's spoken word and Layla K's sung lyrics mingled under blue and red light, the Floetics duo's show ringing in venue PizzaExpress JLT's first weekend as a licensed establishment. With Jeremiah & The Lucky Strikes providing accompaniment, they combined poetic stanzas with refrains from pop hits like Wicked Game and Valerie in a pleasantly unique performance, and in what I believe is their first gig as headliners since they began performing a little over a year ago.

Pizza Calabrese

PizzaExpress JLT is a fairly easy place to get to. I was happy to return after good gastronomic and musical experiences during my first visit, which was on International Jazz Day this year, and which featured a casual string of jam sessions. We tried the Calabrese pizza this time, and enjoyed its delightful piquancy, fresh cheese and delicious sausage.

Floetics ended their show with their playful original "Arabian Boy", which makes for a great showcase of their respective skills. Video of it embedded here (not my own):

Poeticians' launch of Nietzsche's Camel Must Die by Rewa Zeinati

After a few months away, The Poeticians returned to new old haunt Sublime last Sunday to launch Dubai-based Poetician Rewa Zeinati's book Nietzsche's Camel Must Die.

A couple of poets made their debuts, reading their own pieces on topics ranging from nostalgia to marriage, while relatively new Poeticians Lara Matossian-Roberts and Fiona Patterson entertained us with philosophical and comedic verse, respectively. We also got to witness theatrical readings by Jamal Iqbal, some of Zeina H. Beck's excellent poetic oration (and dark humor), and originals by Hind Shoufani and Dana Dajani that hit you right in the feels.

Rewa Zeinati

Zeinati and a number of other long-time Poeticians took turns reading out of the book that night. I did not have enough time to read all of it yet, but what I have read so far was enjoyable reading.

As would be expected from what is essentially a compilation of a poet's Facebook notes, the book consists of flourishing elaborations on thoughts about random incidents in daily life, and perspectives on then-current events and topics. It's not textbook verse, certainly; those who seek a more observational sort of poetry will appreciate of it.

The notes are formatted as informal commentary, and occasionally as letters, in language and structure that's easy to follow. They are not titled either, being listed by number/date instead. Some are a few lines long, while others run into a few pages. Since all the notes are dated, one can often see their context in a timeline; for example, the notes at the turn of a year about Christmas-related things. That and other nuances lend it an added authenticity.

There is no overarching theme, but Zeinati's home country, Lebanon, makes an appearance now and then, and so do feminist perspectives. There are alsp notes about family and childhood - hers or others'. Some of the notes read as stories, and some others as observations sans narrative. Some start as one and blend into the other.

The choice of topics indicates the kind of keen observation and analytical skill that can pick out absurdity from the otherwise mundane, and (usually) successfully develop some fact/news/encounter into a disquisition about something much bigger. Many of the notes would not be out of place as opening voice-overs for the acts in a biographical sitcom. There is also something for those who like playing with words. I look forward to finishing this book.