The Diwan Gallery (Diwan Gallery for Culture and Arts) in Egypt has announced the resumption of the Mohamed Afifi Matar Prize for Arab Poets.
Hisham Kandil, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Diwan Gallery, stated that the prize’s return in its new format follows a meeting held last week with the trustees of the Mohamed Afifi Matar Forum at the gallery. The meeting reflected strong enthusiasm for reviving the award and discussed its details, the changes introduced in its new edition, and mechanisms to ensure its continuity in a manner befitting a poet widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in shaping modern Arabic poetic movements.
Kandil explained that the meeting included poet Gamal Al-Qassas, who was selected to supervise this year’s edition of the award; literary critic Dr. Shawkat Al-Masry, Dean of the Institute of Criticism at the Academy of Arts; and poet Mohamed Harby. Together, they established the general framework for the competition, which, in its fourth edition, will be dedicated to Classical Arabic poetry and open to Arab poets under the age of forty.
Kandil added that the committee has introduced a special award for critical studies on the poetry of Mohamed Afifi Matar. Separate judging panels composed of Egyptian and Arab poets and critics will be formed to evaluate submissions in both the poetry and critical studies categories.
As part of the relaunch, the Mohamed Afifi Matar Forum at Diwan Gallery will host a special event on July 5 in honor of the late poet. The gathering will feature a distinguished group of poets and critics and will include readings from selected works by Matar. During the event, the prize will officially be relaunched in its new format, and the submission guidelines and application schedule will be announced.
It is worth noting that the first edition of the Mohamed Afifi Matar Prize was held in 2017 under the chairmanship of the late critic Dr. Shaker Abdel Hamid. The inaugural award was won by Yemeni poet Jalal Al-Ahmadi for his poetry collection The Stairway of the House Climbs Alone.
The first edition was also accompanied by a multidisciplinary art exhibition featuring visual artists who presented artistic interpretations inspired by Matar’s poetry. The exhibition emerged from a special workshop organized by the gallery under the supervision of artist Dr. Salah El-Meligy.
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