March 12th, 2015: Kazem Aboudan, an Architecture student from Canadian University Dubai (CUD), was among the winners at this year's Taaleem Poetry Competition, run in conjunction with the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature.
Kazem took the runner's up prize in the Arabic stream of the 18-25 year old category with his poem on the subject 'Wonderland'. It's the second time in a row that Kazem has taken part in the competition, also finishing among the finalists in last year's contest.
A Syrian national, Kazem stood out from the crowd by breaking away from the traditional fairy-tale notions of 'Wonderland' to reflect on the conflict and destruction that is facing his home country.
He explained,"My poem focussed on a land destroyed by humans at war. It reflected on the earth, nature and everything it provides - food, water, shelter - and how it nurtures like a mother, and yet can be destroyed by conflicts between the very people it cares for".
With an obvious passion for poetry, Kazem has been writing since he was fifteen years old, and much of his work reflects on his life experiences in Damascus and Beirut. He is also inspired by his love of the Arabic language and his desire to celebrate and preserve the practice of writing in its traditional form.
"In today's society - with all the smart communication devices we have - we are speaking and writing formally less and less, particularly in Arabic," Kazem said, "I feel it is so important to preserve that part of our culture, to encourage people to use the language, and to celebrate it through competitions like this."
According to Kazem, his poetry sits perfectly alongside his architectural studies at CUD. He reveals, "I write poems as a means of expressing myself, it's an overwhelming sensation when I have something in my head, I just have to write it down.
"It has been said that architecture is the mother of all art, and art is all about expression, so there is a parallel in the purpose. Poetry and architecture are simply different forms of expression."
Having made a name for himself with two successful entries in the Taaleem Competition, Kazem is already looking forward to Litfest 2016.
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