DUBAI: Google Doodle celebrated on Monday Emirati poet Ousha Al Suwaidi, who inspired female poets across the region, with an illustration featuring her in traditional attire, including a face covering.
Nicknamed ‘Fatat Al Khaleej’ (The Girl of the Gulf), Al Suwaidi was known for writing Nabati poems, or traditional poetry originating within the nomadic Bedouins of the Arabian Peninsula.
Al Suwaidi was born on Jan. 1, 1920 in Al Ain. When she was 15, she rose to fame nationally in what was commonly a male-dominated field of literature.
Many of her poems were inspired by the Arabian Gulf and desert landscapes, as well as her own experiences in the UAE, touching on themes such as love, wisdom, patriotism, and nostalgia.
She is regarded as one of the finest Arabic Nabati poets with many of her poems sung by popular Emirati and Arab artists.
On this day in 2011, a prestigious event recognized her contributions to literature and many of Al Suwaidi’s poetry and poems written in her honor were recited at the venue.
The poetry community in the UAE also established an annual award for female Emirati poets in Ousha Al Suwaidi’s name in 2011. A library at the Emirates International School, and a section of the Women's Museum in Dubai, was also dedicated in her honor, according to a website citing her biography.
Al Suwaidi died in 2018, she was 98.
