al-Mirbad

Trying to find out the status of the Mirbad International Poetry Festival in Baghdad:

Of great importance as well to a nascent Iraqi civil society is the reemergence throughout Iraq of a coffeehouse culture. It is in this important, albeit informal, institution that the political and cultural ideas of the day are discussed and debated. And notwithstanding that the shadowy “15th of Shaban Movement” has spread fear in Basra, closing nightclubs and stores selling alcohol, intellectuals from all ethnic backgrounds and all parts of the country traveled to the city this past May to reestablish al-Mirbad, one of Iraq’s most prominent poetry festivals, traditionally held near Basra and known throughout the Arab world.

Democracy’s Prospects in Iraq Foreign Policy Research Institute – June 30, 2004

Reestablished in May 2004, first time since November 2000?

Background on Arabic poetry: Of Poets, Prophets, and Politics