The General Union of Writers and Poets in Basra celebrated Arabic Language Day with a poetry evening under the slogan "Basra: The State of Poetry.
At the event, the poet Kazem Al-Hajjaj described Basra as the city of language and a scholarly institution. Alongside Kufa, it laid down precise scientific rules for this great language. Basra also created a literary forum that rivals, and even surpasses, the Souk Okaz of pre-Islamic times. Al-Hajjaj noted that Basra discovered and developed poetry through great poets like Al-Sayyab and others.
Al-Hajjaj concluded by saying, "If people celebrate in the city, they celebrate all the greatness of the Arabs.
Basra poet Ali Al-Emara said the union celebrated the global day of the universal language, emphasizing that the language is our identity, our history, and our expansion in geography and history. Therefore, they presented poems worthy of the language, with elite poets from Basra, Baghdad, and Lebanon reading their works, demonstrating the shared ties with Arab poets. Each year, they celebrate the day in their own way, sometimes with poems, exhibitions, calligraphy, other arts, or plays. This year, the celebration was through poetry, with diverse poems reflecting the deep and vast identity of the Arabic language.
Lebanese poet Bashir Al-Jawad, who participated with a classical love poem, remarked that everything in Basra speaks poetry, even the stones, affirming the spirit of poetry exists in Iraq. He explained he delivered a classical love poem with a youthful style.
Poet Murtadha Al-Tamimi from Baghdad said this session reflects the essence of Basran literature. Poetry in Basra has a special flavor since it is where Al-Farahidi established the prosody rules. Basra is the capital of poetry and a refuge for those who struggle with speech. It is a school of language and poetry, where they listened to great poets who enriched and embellished the language. He described the atmosphere in the Union of Writers and Basra, in general, as more than wonderful, with high-quality texts. He expressed his pride and joy in being among his friends and loved ones in Basra.