The exhibition, which lasted nine days (from December 3 to December 11) and carried the slogan “I read in Beirut time,” was the setting up of twenty-six seminars that dealt with various topics, most notably “Al-Arabiya 24/24”, “The Taif Constitution between Distortion, Excision and Violation”, “The Centenary of Farah Antoun”. And a loyal greeting to each of Riyad El-Rayes, Michel Juha, Samah Idris, Melhem Shawul, J. Fanous and Jabbour Al-Duaihy.
The exhibition also recorded signing parties for more than two hundred publications in the pavilions of the participating publishing houses, which numbered 133 Lebanese houses, in addition to the Arab participation.
As part of the activities of the last day, a poetry evening entitled “Poetry is the Elixir of Life” was held. It was organized by the Shoats of Literature Forum, represented by its president, the poet Ismat Hassan, the White Ink Forum represented by its president, Marduk Al-Shami, and the Green Koura Poet Forum, represented by its president, the poet Mireille Shehadeh. It was moderated by Mr. Ali Abi Raad.
At the beginning of the symposium, the organizers honored the journalist Muhammad Ali Reda Amr, the director and journalist Youssef Raqqa, the media activist Ikmal Saif Al-Din, and the two media figures Claude Soma and Claude Abu Shakra.
After that, Hassan recited two poems from his writing, the first entitled “Poetry Makes Me Eat” and the second entitled “Lebanon the King.” Shehadeh recited a set of her poetic texts, then Al-Shami recited three of his poems.
A symposium was also held to discuss the book “A Cultural Dose” by Dr. Abdul Hadi Muhaisen. The symposium was moderated by Dr. Muhammad Qubaisi, Professor Elias Hanna and Dr. Salwa Al-Amin.
Qubeisi introduced the participants, pointing out that the book “A Cultural dose” is like a dose of water that quenches the thirsty with its valuable information and will increase the reader’s knowledge and culture.
In turn, Hanna described the book as an inexhaustible fountain, in which the writer explained how to promote science among Arabs and Muslims in the countries of Islamic expansion, especially the science of algebra and determining prayer times, stressing the importance of the book by objectively listing historical facts.
As for Dr. Salwa Al-Amin, she said: “This book is a distinguishing mark between the published written works, and the other side in its ups and downs. The writer wanted it to be a journey in the world of East and West.”
And she continued: “It is a comprehensive book in its content and views on the cultures of the various eras with their writers, intellectuals and poets.”
The writer emphasized that the reason for the book was that it was the fulfillment of a dream he had at the beginning of his youth, as it was his first beginnings due to his interest in culture and reading, indicating that there will come a time when cultures and sciences will be transmitted from generation to generation.
The conclusion was a symposium entitled: “Problems of Modernity in Arabic Poetry” moderated by Professor Claude Sawma, with the participation of Professor Nariman Alloush, Dr. Muhammad Tawfiq Abu Ali, Dr. Yusra Bitar, and the advisor to the Minister of Culture Muhammad Wissam Mortada, Suleiman Alloush.
The symposium began with a speech by Soma, in which she introduced the participants, pointing out that the phenomenon of modernity has been raised and still is because it in its nature carries many contradictions and raises several problems around it.
As for Nariman Alloush, she defined poetry as the dance whose steps are weighed without the need for two feet.
For his part, Dr. Muhammad Abu Ali indicated that the problems are almost confined to a group that is a term, the reader, the critic, the media and the problem of the creator, pointing out the need not to differentiate between two terms, modernity and contemporary because modernity is an expression that does not change with time while contemporary is affiliation with what era
In her turn, Dr. Yousra Bitar addressed the issue of the renaissance and its connection to thought, modernity and writing, as there is no modernity in the presence of religious and political obstacles.
As for the advisor to the Minister of Culture, Suleiman Alloush, he confirmed that the problems of modernity in our Arabic poetry are still being discussed, as they include the poet’s position on existence and society, indicating that the poet is not considered modern unless he goes beyond the frameworks of time, place, and prevailing ideas, because creative modernity is constantly changing.
