Syrian Minister of Culture: Suad al-Sabah wrote with words what bullets could not achieve
- The Syrian revolution has been present in her consciousness since the very first day.
- Suad Al-Sabah: Between Kuwait and Syria lies a steadfast bridge that distances cannot destroy.
Minister Al-Salih, in an impromptu speech at the outset of a tribute seminar for Dr. Suad Al-Sabah, hosted by the Damascus Opera House as part of the third day of the Damascus International Arabic Poetry Festival, stated, “Today, Suad Al-Sabah comes to shine with great brilliance... She comes as the sun of Kuwait and the sun of Arabic poetry.”
He added, “Perhaps many of those seated here are unaware that this woman once lost her child in her arms aboard an airplane... It was a child who suffered a heart attack and died in his mother’s arms on the plane... After that, this maternal feeling shifted from her biological children to her metaphorical children, and these children were all those in need of help, east and west. You would find her seated in her ‘White Palace,’ now in her eighties, writing a poem, then transitioning into historical documentation, and then moving on to paint a picture or a canvas... In between all this, in her consciousness and between the folds of her heart, there is always a child in need of care. She would then contact the director of the Suad Al-Sabah House for Culture and Creativity and say to him, ‘Mother, what happened to the child for whom we requested such and such?’ Or, as is her custom, she would ask, ‘Hey my son, what did I ask you to do with so-and-so? Have you finished the matter?’”
He continued, “The Syrian revolution has always been present in Suad Al-Sabah’s consciousness since the first day. She wrote about our martyrs, our heroes, our demonstrations, and our dream that Damascus would be free.”
For her part, Dr. Suad Al-Sabah affirmed that there is a bridge between Kuwait and Syria that distances cannot destroy, because culture has been and will remain the greatest bridge between peoples. She noted that Sham (Greater Syria) holds a special place in her heart, for Sham is the scent of Umara, a phase of poetry, a journey of the soul, and a station of spiritual ecstasy.
In a speech delivered on her behalf by Ali Al-Masoudi, poet and critic and director of the Suad Al-Sabah House for Culture and Creativity, at the beginning of the tribute seminar titled “From the Experience of Poet Suad Al-Sabah: The Human, The Homeland, Peace, Love,” it was stated that honoring her in Damascus carries a different meaning, because honoring in the city of the Umayyads has a distinct flavor—the flavor of a capital that carried the message of civilization to the world. Damascus has never been merely a Syrian city; it is the capital of all Arab imagination, of Arab beauty in all its expansiveness, and of Arab strength in all its majesty. Here, we learned that a nation can make history when it believes in itself, and that culture has always been the creator of civilization.
She added that she does not view this honor as merely honoring her as an individual, but rather as honoring free speech, Arabic poetry, and the Arab woman who chose to wield her pen and confront all forms of silence with it. She continued, “Today, as I see Syria regaining its health and opening its windows to life once again, I feel that Arab hope has not died, and that it resisted many moments of death until the moment of revival arrived. Life has taught me that poetry is a responsibility... and that a word which does not defend humanity is not worthy of ink... nor of love. And that culture which does not side with freedom, dignity, and justice loses its meaning. For this reason, I have remained convinced that poetry can plant a tree in land scorched by war, that a single book can defeat an army of ignorance, and that a sincere poem gives a person a new reason to love life.”
The seminar featured Dr. Muhammad Hasan al-Ttiyan, a professor at the Arab Open University in Kuwait; Dr. Fayez al-Dayeh, a professor at the University of Aleppo; writer and critic Dr. Nizar al-Aani; and Ali al-Masoudi, poet and critic, director of Suad Al-Soosha House for Culture and Creativity, amidst an official presence and an audience of those interested in cultural and literary affairs.
The seminar addressed prominent milestones in the poet Suad Al-Soosha’s career, her role in supporting Arab poets and creative minds, and her focus on youth and children through literary prizes and competitions. It also highlighted her engagement with humanitarian and national issues, as well as the values of peace and love in her poetic and cultural project, and her continuous efforts to promote the study of the Arabic language among new generations as a key element of identity and belonging.
The seminar was held as part of the Damascus International Festival of Arabic Poetry, organized by the Ministry of Culture. The festival includes a series of poetic evenings and cultural activities featuring poets and writers from Syria and several Arab countries, aiming to strengthen the presence of Arabic poetry and restore Damascus’s role in the cultural and poetic landscape.
