Al Ouni slam ‘plague’ of extremism, poverty in Million’s Poet

‘Daring’ Al Ouni, Faheed tackle sensitive issues in their opening poems, earning them place in next round of fifth session of Million’s Poet in Abu Dhabi. Two Saudi poets, described by judges as “daring”, made it through to the next round at last night’s premiere of the fifth season of the Million’s Poet TV pogramme in Abu Dhabi. Saqqar Al Ouni and Mansour Faheed took on sensitive issues in their opening poems, slamming the “plague” of extremism and poverty in parts of the region. “And no, there are no keys to heaven dangling over the homes of whom you terrorised,” yelled out Mr Al Ouni as he stood centre stage, losing his voice in the middle of recitation. The three judges gave them high marks on performance and the actual poetry composed. They were among eight poets who competed at the Al Raha Beach Theater in Abu Dhabi, and who were broadcast on AD Emarat TV. From the remaining six, two will remain in the competition based on the number of votes from viewers. Organised by Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach), the competition includes a total of 48 poets selected from more than 20,000 applicants who will battle it out every Tuesday. A psychologist has been added to the end of the segment to assess the state and body language of the contestants.