Casablanca to host International Poetry and Zajal Festival

Amateur and professional poets will display work The eighth annual international festival of poetry and Zajal is to be held in the city of Casablanca, Morocco  May 23-26. The festival, organised by the Association of Gesture for Communication and Social Development, gathers amateur and professional poets from dispersed nations.
Hassan Khabaz, director of the festival credited the event as being “comprehensive” in its scope. Khabaz told Arabstoday that the event is an “important event where all lovers of poetry and Zajal meet from various Arab and international countries.”
Khabaz confirmed that this year the festival will feature contributions from a number of Arab countries including Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia and Algeria, in addition to guest of honour Columbia.
The festival aims to revive cultural heritage and refine the experiences of young talented poets, and to also “spread culture which is decaying in a number of Arab countries,” said Khabaz.