Contemporary Emirati Literature: Its Historical Development and Forms

Abstract

This article provides a general survey of Emirati literature—poetry, drama, the short story and novel—tracing the history of the development of these genres in the periods before and after the formation of the UAE federation in 1971. While the UAE has now become famous as the commercial and tourist hub of the contemporary Middle East, very little is known in the English speaking world about the country’s literary and cultural productions within the context of the wider modern Arabic literary tradition. The article constitutes a preliminary report of an on-going project on the topic in which I am arguing that, contrary to the general perception in academia (East and West), contemporary Emirati literature is not inferior to its counterparts in the Gulf and wider Arab region; and that Emirati women are as active as their male compatriots in literary production.Key words: Arabic, literature, Emirati, contemporary, history, criticism

English in the United Arab Emirates

“…Literary publications and creative writing are a budding industry in the UAE. Tijani (2014) notes that modern poetry traditions started around the 20th century in the region, while contemporary Arabic literature gained traction in the 1970s (p. 123). However, the translation of Emirati literary works into English began with the publication of anthologies in 1988 and have only enjoyed minority representation (p. 128).…”

“…Literary publications and creative writing are a budding industry in the UAE. Tijani (2014) Lastly, restaurant names also display evidence of creativity and nativization. For example, in Dubai, some English restaurant names are translated into Arabic syntax where the noun is followed by the qualifier/adjective, instead of the qualifier + noun pattern typically seen in English.…”

Raising the Profile of Theatre in Ras Al Khaimah: History and Impact

“…Yet these facts are little known outside of Ras Al Khaimah. The emirate makes few appearances in histories of theatre in the region; accounts of contemporary theatre in the UAE focus almost exclusively on performances and theatre activities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah (see Al-Attar, 2009;Michalak-Pikulska, 2012;Tijani, 2014;Cvitanovich, 2015). This policy paper thus has three complementary aims:…”