First female poet made it to the semifinals

United Arab Emirates | 12/02/2010

Million’s poet competition getting tougher. The poetical skills are tested hardly.
Abu Dhabi – The first female poet taking part in Arab’s biggest poetry competition had made it to the semifinals.

Saudi poet Hisa Helal known as “Remeya” was qualified by the jury panel last Wednesday in Millio’s Poet TV competition broadcast live from Al Raha Beach Theater on Abu Dhabi TV.

Remeya who was competing with five mail poets in the episode was given 48 points out of 50 by the jury. One of the five poets will be qualified by public voting online and via SMS through out the week. Poet with highest votes will make it to the semifinals.

The second phase of the competition is a tough stage that examines the poetical skills of the 24 poets qualified from the total 48 poets participating in the fourth season of the competition.

Poets are required to deliver a free rhyme poem from 15 verses in the first part of the episode and in the second part they have to prove their poetical ability to build up a poem that keeps up with famous poems in the rhyme and the content in what known in Arabic poetry as (Mujarah).

Remeya is one of four female poets participating in this season and made it to the second phase but she is the first female to be qualified for the semifinals after the failure of two Jordanian female poets in the last two episodes.

Next Wednesday Saudi female poet Mastora Al Ahmadi will stand before the panel and audience to be tested for the semifinals with other five poets.

The competition organised and produced by Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage is broadcast live every Wednesday at 10:30pm on Abu Dhabi TV from Al Raha Beach Theater in the capital.

The competition aims to preserve one of the ancient literature forms in Arabia and part of authentic Bedouin heritage.

The show presents 48 poets, carefully selected="true" by a panel of experts on Nabati poetry (dialect poetry), from thousands of applicants after a six-week tour of the Arabian Gulf countries with contestants from all over the Arab world. The poets will battle it out, seeking to impress the jury and the audience with their poetic skills, in the hope of making it through to the grand final.

Contestants are judged using a mixture of jury votes, live audience votes via the in-theatre voting pods and SMS voting throughout the weeks. The Millions’ Poet who wins first place will receive an increased grand prize of 5 million AED ($1,362,000), second place will be awarded 4 million AED ($ 1,090,000), third place 3 million AED ($ 817,000), fourth place 2 million AED ($ 545,000) and fifth place 1 million AED ($ 272,000)

More info: http://www.adach.ae