Call it an open mic to end all open mics. Doha might have precious few open mic opportunities to begin with but none seem to pack in the refreshing momentum or the rising popularity of Words & Strings.
An evening of poetry, spoken word and music, at the Katara Art Centre (KAC), saw 17 performers belt out a wide range of quality creativity to a cheery audience of close to 100 on the weekend. Words & Strings have been pioneering spoken word art events to unite the many and scattered talents in Qatar. As they say, “enriching the local art scene” is their goal.
Soon after the show that drew a huge wave of applause for the participants including Emirati poetess Afra Atiq who flew down from the UAE just for the event and won most hearts with her words, the social media buzzed with glowing reviews by those who attended. “Honestly, best #WordsNStrings I have attended,” tweeted @hallah_t. Poetess Zainab, whose poem had lines such as – As if by choice I left, as if by choice you stayed… I think I’m home – made @_ItsAya say, “Zainab blessing our ears with her poem.”
Arwa Elsanosi, Communications Manager, Words & Strings, told Community, “Friday’s event was exceptional and very diverse be it in terms of the types of performers or nationalities. It’s wonderful to see people from all ages exploring a range of topics through their creativity and then present it on this stage. Such an event shows just how international of a hub Doha is, and also how Words & Strings is able to bring that out.”
Elsanosi says that the two-hour-long Words & Strings event is held every other month and the effort is to unite the various spoken word talents in Qatar.
“People are usually very excited before the event,” she said, “One has to register for a free ticket to the event, but for Friday’s show, we ran out of tickets in less than 24 hours due to very high demand. As people kept mailing us, we decided to put some extra seats, and therefore, extra tickets but even those were sold out in no time. We now realise that we are growing rather rapidly, and we might need a bigger space to accommodate the audience.”
Two years ago, Words & Strings started with a group of five enthusiastic and multitalented youth, who are passionate about arts and more so about the spoken word. The organisers say, “This group attempted to fill the gap between the existence of talent and the lack of consistent platform to share it, with the aim to create an open space for artists and art lovers to come together and comfortably share their talents on the only consistent platform for spoken word art in Qatar.”
Co-founder of Words & Strings and poet, Amin Isaac said, “The first thing I noticed at the latest edition of Words & Strings is how much this event has grown. It’s our seventh event since we started off in September 2014, and perhaps the most successful of all. From the first minute till the last, people listened to the poems with rapt attention and some even stood all through the show because all seats were taken. In spite of the minor technical difficulties, people didn’t complain and stayed till the very end. It’s heartwarming to see how everybody appreciates our efforts.”
Nabil al-Nashar, who has been participating at Words & Strings ever since it began, said, “To be part of a Words & Strings event is an excellent experience because as far as I know, there are no other outlets for poetry and spoken word here that are this open to everyone. Words & Strings give a chance to everybody who wants to try their hand at reciting poems.
“Even those who don’t have the desired stage presence or haven’t penned full-fledged poems are welcome to give it a shot. Be the poem in Arabic or English or be the poet young or old, everybody is free to be part of this. If someone is a little shy or not very confident, everybody encourages them by clapping and cheering even more for them. It’s a very friendly community.”
GETTING LYRICAL: Held at Katara Art Centre, the evening saw a wave of applause for the participants, including Emirati poetess Afra Atiq who flew down from the UAE just for the event.
