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Tribune News Network
Doha
The final round of the third Katara Prize for Prophet's Poet competition began at on Wednesday with 30 shortlisted contestants from a total of 942 entries.
Over four days, the contestants will present their poems before a judging panel comprising experts from Qatar and other Arab countries.
The competition will conclude on April 28 with an award ceremony at Katara Opera House at 8:30pm when the winners will be announced.
The award carries cash prizes worth a total of QR4.2 million. The contest, featuring original Arabic poems on the life and traditions of Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him), is divided into two categories - Classic Poetry (Shaar Al Faseeh) and Colloquial Poetry (Shaar Al Nabti).
The organising committee received 853 entries in Classic Poetry and 89 entries in Colloquial Poetry from across the Arab region and several non-Arab countries.
The entries included 86 women and 46 participants from non- Arab countries.
Fifteen best entries were shortlisted in each category for the finals. On the first and second days of the final round, five contestants will be shortlisted in each of the two categories.
Three winners will then be selected from the five in each category.
The six winners from the two categories will be awarded prizes at the closing ceremony.
The first prize winner in each category will get a cash prize of QR1m while winners of the second and third positions will take home QR700,000 and QR400,000, respectively.
The Katara Prize for Prophet's Poet, now in its third year, aims to nurture the love for the Prophet in the minds of the people, especially the younger generation and keep them attached to the history and traditions of the Prophet, said the organising committee.
The judging panel for the Classic Poetry category comprises three experts from Qatar, Kuwait, Oman while the panel for the Colloquial Poetry comprises three experts from Oman, Morocco and Jordan.
The final round of the competition will be telecast by Qatar TV. The winning entries and other selected poems from the competition will be published by Katara Publishing House in a book.
