Recovering the earliest voices of Omani poetry
Sharjah book fair session explores how scattered verses and historical sources help trace Oman’s literary roots
Published: 12:11 PM,Nov 09,2026 | EDITED : 04:11 PM,Nov 09,2026
The search for Oman’s earliest poetic voices involves piecing together verses and references scattered across historical and literary sources, a discussion at the 45th Sharjah International Book Fair explored.
Emirati poet and researcher Dr Ahmed Mohammed Obaid presented the session on Omani poetry in its early periods, in conversation with Omani poet Hassan al Matrooshi. The discussion examined the roots of the country’s poetic tradition and the challenges of tracing its development through surviving texts.
Particular attention was given to the pre-Islamic period, described in the session’s published summary as the least clearly documented chapter in the history of Omani poetry, owing to the limited evidence available to researchers.
This scarcity raises questions about the nature of poetic activity in Oman before Islam, its place in social and tribal life, and why historical and literary sources preserved relatively little of the work of poets associated with Oman compared with other parts of the Arabian Peninsula.
The discussion considered these gaps alongside the task of gathering surviving material to build a fuller picture of the early poetic landscape.
Among the works examined was Obaid’s book on Omani poets in the pre-Islamic and early Islamic periods. It traces references to poets associated with Oman in historical and literary sources and brings together their scattered verses.
The session distinguished between a general literary study and the work of collecting and critically editing surviving poetry. Establishing reliable texts provides material on which subsequent analysis and interpretation can be based.
Obaid stressed the importance of a historical approach to documenting poetry, explaining that carefully verified texts form the foundation for rigorous literary scholarship.
Historical and genealogical writings were also discussed as sources that preserve accounts of poets and fragments of works that have not survived in full. Read alongside literary collections, such references can help researchers examine the contexts in which the poetry emerged.
Another work highlighted during the session was Obaid’s collection and critical edition of the poetry of Kaab bin Maadan al Ashqari, an Omani poet of the Azd tribe.
The book brings together his surviving verse and introduces his literary standing, allowing researchers and readers to examine an example of early Omani poetry within the wider Arabic poetic tradition of his time.
Together, the two works illustrated the research involved in tracing names, gathering dispersed texts and placing them within their historical setting. The discussion also drew attention to the distinction between the limited poetry that has reached modern readers and the broader poetic activity that may once have existed.
The session formed part of Oman’s cultural programme as Guest of Honour at the fair, exploring the relationship between poetry, the memory of place and historical change.