Saturday 24/January/2026 – 05:46 PM
The Creativity Forum Hall witnessed exhibition Cairo International Book Fair, at its fifty-seventh session, at the fairgrounds, discussing the collection of poetry, In the Language of the Beast, by the poet Hatem Al-Atir.
The symposium was moderated by the poet and writer Abdul Rahman Muqallid, and the poetry collection was discussed by the poet Ahmed Bakhit and the poet Muhammad Arab Saleh.
At the beginning, the poet Abdul Rahman Muqallad emphasized that today we celebrate a true poet. Each of the poems in the collection I had listened to before and liked very much.
Discussion of the book Surprised by the Beast by Hatem Al-Atir at the book fair
He continued that the collection “The Beast Was Surprised” is the experience closest to my heart in the poetry of Hatem Al-Atir, and it is an experience that contains a lot of calm and talk about the inside, and he is one of the poets who are good at creating the poetic scene.
For his part, the poet Muhammad Arab Saleh said that Hatem Al-Atir, in his collection of poems Surprised by the Beast, used easy language, but it is immersed in ambiguity that is sometimes difficult for the ordinary recipient through the correspondence of metaphors and rhetorical images.
Arab Saleh continued that the Arabic narrative is greatly evident in the collection of Hatem Al-Atir, influenced by his historical study, so we find history as a hero in the poems of the collection.
He explained that Hatem’s themes in his poetry are new and the collection contains some wonderful images steeped in detail, giving an example of a poem in which he talks about the sound under water. He explained that in the opening of the collection the poet did not write a dedication or an introduction, but rather began it with a poem addressed to the reader with sorrow, grief and loyalty.
For his part, the poet Ahmed Bakhit said: This is a collection of poems: The Monster Surprised. He reads from the title. We were all surprised by the monster. It is a collection that is a memory of recent years and transformations, of the collapse of values and principles. Poetry uses everything it can reach to present to us this fragmented world with all its frustrations, especially in the last five years. The entire collection gives you a picture of the world in which the poet lives.
He continued: In the collection, the poet looks at the heritage, but does not fall into its captivity. Rather, he dialogues with it and presents his vision through it. He wants to explain this nihilistic reality that we all live in, but he sees its defeat in the end and chronicles the recent years with rare courage. He is an accomplished and realistic poet who is coming strong.
