BATOOL GHAITH (ABU DHABI)
Emirati literature is becoming one of the UAE's most important forms of cultural dialogue and diplomacy, narrating stories through authentic voices while finding universal connections with readers around the world.
As their books appear at major international book fairs, literary festivals and cultural forums, Emirati writers are introducing global audiences to country's literary landscape.
This year alone, writer Ali Al Shaali launched the English edition of his short story collection "Lives in Pomegranate" at the Beijing International Book Fair, where the UAE participated as Country of Honour.
Meanwhile, award-winning poet Shamma Al Bastaki represented UAE literature at Italy's Taobuk Festival in Sicily, helping launch a new partnership between the festival and the Emirates Literature Foundation under the Global Association of Literary Festivals.
For Al Shaali, representing the UAE internationally is both a privilege and a responsibility. "It fills me with pride to represent my beloved home country, as UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan recently said, we are all ambassadors of the UAE, each in our own field and in our own way," Al Shaali told Aletihad.
He said that writers and artists contribute to that role through work that creates lasting dialogue with audiences around the world. Al Shaali said that preserving Emirati heritage through his writing comes naturally, as it grows from everyday life in the UAE.
In his book Lives in Pomegranate, several stories unfold in the UAE, including one following an Emirati girl and her multicultural group of friends on a skiing trip to Jebel Jais, weaving together the country's geography and history without compromising the technical aspects of the story, he noted.
"I believe that what is written with joy and passion will reach the audience's hearts, which is why I remain focused to stay authentic and pour my heart onto the page," Al Shaali said.
Looking at the broader literary landscape, Al Shaali believes the past two decades have transformed Emirati literature for the better, as the whole cultural ecosystem has matured, he noted, allowing and demanding bolder and more mature works.
He attributed the change to more creatives embracing experimentation in their work, as well as cultural organisations becoming increasingly active on different fronts and incorporating international events into their annual calendars.
"With these and many other factors, Emirati literature has found its place on both the regional and international stages," Al Shaali added.
When international readers discover Emirati literature, Al Shaali hopes they recognise how much people share regardless of geography or culture.
"Literature has always been at the forefront of soft power and cultural diplomacy. Today, Emirati books are being translated into several languages, discussed at international festivals, and are reaching readers who might never have encountered them otherwise," he said.
Like Al Shaali, Al Bastaki believes authenticity is what helps Emirati writing resonate internationally. "I write from a deeply intuitive place that feels true to me," Al Bastaki told Aletihad, noting that the UAE possesses a rich literary culture, where poetry has historically served as both a social record and a way of understanding the world.
"It was a privilege to bring that living tradition into dialogue with international literature," she said.
During the Taobuk Festival in Sicily, Al Bastaki opened renowned artist Anish Kapoor's exhibition with a poetry reading before later participating in a panel discussion and book signing for her latest publication, "House to House".
Her multilingual collection combines poetry, collage and oral histories gathered from Dubai Creek communities between the 1940s and the 1980s. Originally inspired by ethnographic curiosity nearly a decade ago, the project gradually evolved into an effort to merge sociological research with literature.
"Somehow poetry felt like the natural container for preserving the stories I was hearing from the older generation, refracting them into a rigid form that mimics the way societies collectively remember," Al Bastaki said.
She added that writing in Arabic is very important, describing Arabic as "the very essence of our literary ether". "Thinking about Arabic in an expansive way allows us to remain rooted in the language while recognising and appreciating its flexibility," Al Bastaki noted.
Her own work moves naturally between Arabic and English, guided less by linguistic balance than by intuition, sound and texture. In House to House, she describes this approach as a "poetics of translucence", embracing blur and lexical inexactness to reflect the complexity of lived experience.
Looking ahead, Al Bastaki also sees artificial intelligence as an opportunity rather than a threat to literature. While insisting that writers remain the custodians of language, she believes that "as long as we do not outsource our thinking, AI can be an enabler of creativity rather than a stifler".