a political tool
A constant in the history of Arabic poetry is its role as a political tool. In Yemen, for instance, poetry is still integral to the process of settling tribal disputes. Stephen Caton, professor of anthropology at Harvard University, has spent two decades studying Yemeni tribal society. “Poetry is a part of the general political discourse in tribal society — and tribal societies are still a very important part of the nation-state in the Middle East, as in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq,†he says. “If you’re going to understand the political discussion that’s going on in the public sphere, you have to be able to tap into that poetry.â€
In Yemen, a sheikh mediating a dispute will often call the disagreeing parties together along with uninvolved delegations from other tribes. As the delegations arrive at the meeting place, they voice their opinions and moral stances in poetry. Listening to the poems, the sheikh assesses whether or not there is a consensus on the issue and determines the differences of opinion. “At various points in the dispute mediation, people can weigh in with the moral force of a poem very effectively,†says Caton. “Arab poetry shows us that art and politics are not divorced and that neither is poetry and power.â€
“In places like Yemen, there is a cultural conviction that poetry has something to offer politics — that political action is not only about using brute force, it’s about persuading someone, convincing them that what you say is moral and just. They are persuaded in part by the beauty of the language to think so,†he adds.