Iraq’s 8th Mirbad Poetry Festival opened in Basra, south Iraq

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: Iraq’s 8th Mirbad Poetry Festival was opened in southern Iraq’s Basra city, on Thursday, with the participation of about 300 Iraqi writers and 20 foreign writers. “Iraq’s Culture Ministry’s Undersecretary, Fahmi al-Atroushy, opened the activities of the 8th Mirbad Poetry Festival in Basra, scheduled to continue for 3 days, during which 6 poetry and 3 criticism sessions would be held,” a source close to the Festival told IraqiNews.com news agency. He said that this year’s Mirbad’s session had held under the name of the famous Iraqi Poet, Mudhaffar al-Nawab, for his creative achievements and struggle against the dictatorship, whilst a Kurdish Poet, called Shirko Beckas, would also be highlighted during the festival. Mudhaffar Abdul-Majid al-Nawab is an Iraqi Poet, belonging to the outstanding al-Nawab family in Baghdad, was born in 1934 and had completed his university studies in in Baghdad’s Collage of Literature. After the end of the Royalist regime in 1958, he was appointed as Inspector-General in Baghdad’s Education Ministry. Poet Mudhaffar al-Nawab was arrested by Iraq’s former ruling Baath regime and succeeded to escape from prison, together with a number of his comrades, through digging a tunnel that led to freedom. He escaped and hid himself in southern Iraq’s Ahwar (Marchland), where he lived with peasants and simple people for about one year. “The Mirbad’s activities shall comprise two photo  and books exhibitions and another exhibition for hand-crafts, along with several artistic and musical activities, to be presented by the Iraqi Symphony Orchestra and the Basra Orchestra for Popular Arts, along with other popular artistic teams,” the source said. The first session of the Mirbad Festival was held in Basra in 1971 and continued its sessions till the downfall of the former regime in 2003. SKH (FT)/SR 440