During a ceremony held at the National Library of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Prize for this 17th edition was presented to the Bahraini poet by Mohamed Kimakh, Executive Director of the CDG Foundation, Mourad Kadiri, President of the House of Poetry in Morocco, and Abdelhamid Ibn El Farouk, President of the jury.
In a speech published in a brochure distributed for the occasion, the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, indicated that this Prize constitutes a precious opportunity for poets from all over the world to meet in the Kingdom, which consecrates Morocco's cultural position and strengthens its presence as a country open to cultural and poetic experiences that defend humanity in its quest for meaning, through culture and the arts.
The career of poet Qassim Haddad is distinguished by his constant and renewed search for poetry, the minister added, noting that this poetic quest brings a new dimension to the political, economic, cultural and historical relations uniting the brotherly Moroccan and Bahraini peoples.
For his part, Mr. Kadiri expressed the pride of the House of Poetry to see the name of the Bahraini poet Qassim Haddad inscribed among the winners of this Prize alongside many poets from all over the world, adding that the Argana Prize "is always on the path of attentive listening to poetry".
Mr. Kimakh, for his part, stressed that this cultural event aims to honour Moroccan, Arab and international poetic experiences that celebrate beauty and create the happiness of the poem and the poets, nurtured by enthusiasts of this literary genre.
Poet Qassim Haddad affirmed, for his part, that poetry represents "his only and ultimate freedom", expressing his gratitude to the jury "which has placed its trust in the contemporary Arab poetic experience to which he claims to be connected".
In addition to Abdelhamid Ibn El Farouk, the jury for the 17th edition of the "Argana" International Poetry Prize is composed of the poet Wafa El Omrani, the Egyptian writer and journalist Sayed Mahmoud, the poet Najib Khaddari, the poet Munir Serhani, as well as the poet Hassan Najmi, Secretary General of the Argana Prize.
Qassim Haddad is an eminent figure in Arab and world poetry, whose creative path is rich in collections and works.
Launched in 2002, "Argana" is a prize of poetic friendship that Moroccans award to a poet who distinguishes himself by his experience in the field of humanist poetry and who defends the values of difference, freedom and peace.
