The Poet’s Biography

Ali Abdulla Khalifa was born in the city of Muharraq in the Kingdom of Bahrain on March 4, 1944, to a family of pearl divers. He received his education in Bahrain and through his own efforts continued a path towards acquiring a wide breadth of general knowledge. As a poet and a researcher in popular culture, he writes his poems in classical and in the vernacular of his native country. In the early sixties of the last century, he published his first poems in Bahrain and in Lebanon. His first collection of poems was published by Dar Al-Ilm Lil-Millain in Beirut in 1969.

His professional career includes:

• President of the International Organization for Folk Art (IOV) www.iov.world, Since 2016.

• Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Abdul Rahman Kanoo Cultural Center www.akanoocc.org since 1994.

• Director General of the Cultural Research Department of the Royal Court in the Kingdom of Bahrain since 2001.

• Director General of Folk Culture for Studies, Research and Publishing – since November 2007.

• Editor-in-Chief of Folk Culture Journal, www.folkculturebh.org – since January 2008.

• Director of the Department of Cultural and Scientific Affairs at the Issa Cultural Center – since 2008

• Secretary General of the Isa Award for Service to Humanity – since 2010 www.isaaward.org

• Founder/Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Bahrain Book Forum bahrainbforum.com, since 2019

Poetry collections

• أنين الصواري – a collection of poetry in classical Arabic – Dar Al-Ilm Lil-Millain – Beirut 1969

• عطش النخيل – a collection of vernacular poetry – Dar Al-Ilm Lil-Malilain – Beirut – 1970

• إضاءة لذاكرة الوطن – a poetry collection in classical Arabic – Dar Al-Adab – Beirut 1973.

• عصافير المسا – a collection of vernacular poetry (an album containing the printed collection accompanied by 4 cassette tapes with the poems recorded on and with music by Mohamed Hadad) – Dar Al-Ghad – Bahrain 1983.

• في وداع السيدة الخضراء – a poetry collection in classical Arabic – Dar Al-Ghad – Bahrain 1992

• حورية العاشق – a poetry collection in classical Arabic – Arab Institute for Research & Publishing – Beirut 2000

• يعشب الورق – selected poems – Bahrain Writes Association, 2005

• لا يتشابه الشجر – a poetry collection in classical Arabic – Arab Institute for Research & Publishing – Beirut 2005.

• على قلب واحد – a vernacular poetry collection – (an album containing the collection accompanied by a CD with the poet’s voice and music written by Muhammad Haddad). Al-Ayyam Publishing and Distribution – Bahrain 2005

• (Lune Solitaitre), an anthology of poetry translated into French by معطي قبال -دار باريس ميدي ترانيه , 2006

• وشائج – poetry selections translated into French with illustrations by the French artist Chantal Legendre, a critical introduction in Arabic by Dr. Nour el-Huda Badis, and an introduction in French by Professor David Dumortier – Le Printemps de Poètes – France 2009.

• Lua Solitaria, a translation from French to Portuguese the poetry collection قمر الوحيد issued by His Excellency the former Minister of Education of Brazil, Cristovam Buarque, from the Brazilian publishing house Liber Livro 2014

• قال المعنى – Mawawil in calligraphy by the artist Ammar Al-Mahmoud, with colorful paintings from the works of the artist Nasser Thamer Al-Samarrai, accompanied by CDs containing the Mawwāl, recorded with sound and sung with the voices of major Arab Gulf singers – Bahrain 2015

• تهويدة لنجمة البحر – a poetry collection in classical Arabic, accompanied by colorful paintings by the artist Ahmed Gamal Eid- Arab Institute for Research & Publishing – Beirut, April 2019.

• ديرة بوسع الكون Un Pays grand comme l’univers Mawawil a vernacular collection, translated into French by Yaqoub Al-Muharraqi. Attached with the collection is an analytical study by Dr. Entesar Al-Banna – French publishing house L’ Harmattan – Paris May 2019

• Fifty years of poetry 1969 – 2019: Complete poetic works – Arab Institute for Research & Publishing – Beirut, July 2019.

Singing operettas

صانع المجد (a staged operetta composed by the artist Jassim Al-Harban) – Ministry of Education – Bahrain 1996
انتظرناك طويلاّ (a staged operetta composed by the artist Khaled Al-Sheikh) -Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs– Kingdom of Bahrain 2001
شمالي الروح (a staged operetta composed by the artist Khaled Al-Sheikh), Muharraq Governorate – Kingdom of Bahrain 2002.

Studies and research

Hassan Al-Farhan Anthology of Poetry (introduction, review and interpretation), 1980

Mawal Arts (based on a field study to collect, document and explore Mawal in the Arabian Gulf), 1971
Gulf of Songs (based on field research to document the songs and dances popular in the Arabian Gulf), 1979
Forms and Content of Al Fajri Poetic Art, 2001
Modern Vernacular Poetry and the New Techniques, 2002
Folklore Inspiration in Creative Works, 2003
The Experience of Establishing and Closing the Arab Gulf States Folklore Centre, 2006
Folk Arts – Nations in Unison, 2007
Nabati Poetry, from the Tribe’s Poet to the Million’s Poet, 2009

Cultural efforts and sites:

As a high school student in 1963, he worked as a guide for Poul Rovsing Olsen, a Danish professor of ethnomusicology. He helped him with field research into folk music in Bahrain.
In 1966, he worked as a guide for a Swiss professor named Simon Jargy. He helped with his field research by collecting the contents of folk songs in Bahrain.
Founder of Dar Al Ghad Publishing and Distribution House in Bahrain, 1974
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Kitabat, a quarterly literary magazine in Bahrain, 1976.
Founded the Studies and Research Department of the Department of Culture and Arts in the State of Qatar and assumed its presidency from 1978 to 1980. This effort was in collaboration with the Sudanese novelist, Al-Tayeb Salih, supported by Dr. Issa Ghanem Al-Kuwari.
One of the founders of the International Organization for Folk Art (IOV), which began in Mödling, Austria, 1979. He was then tasked with establishing a branch in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
He proposed the idea of unifying the efforts of the Arab Gulf states to collect and record folklore, and he undertook the mission of drawing up the documents for establishing the Folklore Heritage Center for the Arab Gulf States in 1982. Khalifa also supervised its establishment, and took over its management for five years.
He founded the specialized scientific magazine (Folk Culture) in Qatar in 1984 and served as its editor-in-chief for three years.
In 1989, he established the General Secretariat of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature in the Kingdom of Bahrain and assumed the position of Assistant Secretary-General of the Council for the period from 1989 – 1997.
Founded Bahrain Cultural magazine in 1994, which was issued by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature. He served as its editorial manager until 2000. The magazine continued its publication through the Ministry of Culture after that.
He assumed the duties of Director of the Culture and Arts Department at the Ministry of Information for the period from 1997-2000
He was commissioned by Majesty the King of the Kingdom of Bahrain to establish the Cultural Research Department at the Royal Court in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2001 and assumed its management from that time until now.
He participated in a number of literary and intellectual conferences and forums inside and outside Arab countries.
He performed in many poetry recitation events and participated in a number of Arab poetry festivals (Arab Poetry Festival, Marbad, Jerash, International Poetry Forum, and Autumn France).
Participated in meetings of non-governmental experts to develop the International Convention for the Protection of Copyright and Related Rights in Paris, commissioned by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1978.
Participated in meetings of non-governmental experts to develop a model Arab agreement for the protection of popular heritage, commissioned by the World Organization for the Protection of Intellectual Property (W I P O) – 1983.
Participated in developing a draft comprehensive plan for Arab culture commissioned by the Arab Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) – 1984.
Examples of his poems were selected and included in the curricula of middle school and high school students in schools in Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
Selections of his poems have been translated into English, French, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Portuguese and Persian.
Commissioned by the United Nations Development Office in the Kingdom of Bahrain, he edited and drafted (the National Youth Strategy for the Kingdom of Bahrain) based on the reports of eight national experts in 2005.
He was elected in the Greek city of Volos in May 2007 as Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East and North Africa region of the International Organization for Folk Art (IOV) operating under the umbrella of UNESCO, and in Prague in 2012 he was elected Vice-President of the organization.
Established in Bahrain the Middle East and North Africa regional office of the International Organization for Folk Art (IOV) – September 2007.
In cooperation with the Ministry of Information in the Kingdom of Bahrain, he established the Bahrain International Folklore Festival – December 2007.
Founded Folk Culture for Studies Research and Publishing in Bahrain (November 2007).
He founded Folk Culture journal, a specialized quarterly scientific magazine published in eight languages, in cooperation with the International Organization for Folk Art (IOV) in 2008 and served as its editor-in-chief for twelve years until now (Bahrain).
Upon the directive of His Majesty the King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, in 2010, he established the General Secretariat of the Isa Award for Service to Humanity and assumed the position of Secretary-General from its establishment until now.
Elected president of the International Organization of Folk Art (IOV) (2016-2020) At the General Assembly meeting of organization in the Italian city of Bergamo.

The most important studies and research that discussed his poetic works:

Pearl Divers in the Poetry of Ali Abdullah Khalifa, a Master’s thesis in French by Jacqueline Hoffer under the supervision of Prof. Simon Jargy, submitted to the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Geneva, 1972
Ali Abdullah Khalifa, the Poet, in Light of Contemporary Trends of Arab Poetry, a Master’s thesis by Dr. Udatallah Mani’ Al Qaysi under the supervision of Dr. Suhair Al Qalamawi, submitted to the Institute of Arab Research and Studies of ALECSO. The study was published in the book Studies on the Literature of Bahrain (ALECSO, Cairo, 1979)
Ali Abdullah Khalifa from “Masts’ Moans” to “Glimpse on the Memory of Homeland” by Dr. Mahir Hasan Fahmi in a chapter of the book, The Development of Arab Modern Poetry in the Gulf, 1981
Modernism Harp: Self and Theme by Dr Sulayman Al Attar, Al-Bahrain al-Thaqafia, (The National Council for Arts and Culture, Bahrain, 1995)
Ideas on Creativity of Contemporary Bahraini Poet, Ali Abdullah Khalifa by Polish Orientalist Prof. Barbara Michalak Pikulska and Dr. Yusuf Shihadah (Journal of Arab Islamic Studies, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland, 2000)
Lotus Flower: A study of the figures of speech in the poetry of Ali Abdullah Khalifa by Dr. Wijdan Abdulilah Al Sayigh (National Cultural Forum, Bahrain, 2001)
What The Palm Tree Said to the Sea, a Master’s thesis by Dr. Alawi Al Hashimi
The Moving Stillness, a PhD dissertation by Dr. Alawi Al Hashimi
Discourse Anxiety: Modernism Infernos by Ghalia Khawaja (Arab Institute for Research and Publishing, Beirut, 2002
Ali Abdullah Khalifa: The Phenomenon of Sea in his Poetry, a Master’s thesis by Aisha Salman Al Sayas under the supervision of Prof. Henry Al Uwayt, submitted to the Institute of Oriental Literature, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, St. Joseph University, Beirut, 2003
In the Realm of Ali Abdullah Khalifa’s Poetry, a critical review and applied study by Dr. Yusuf Shihadah and Professor Barbara Michalak Pikulska (Abdul Moneim Publishers, Aleppo, Syria, 2008)
The Pearl and the Sea: Readings in Ali Abdullah Khalifa’s Poetry by Dr. Wijdan Al-Saegh, Arab Institute for Research and Publishing, Beirut, 2019
Text and Context: The Realm of Ali Abdullah Khalifa’s Poetry, Dr. Mohammed Zaidan, Academic Book Center, Oman, 2019
Readings in the poetic experience of Ali Abdullah Khalifa, a group of authors, the Bahrain Writers Association, Dar Tadween – Lebanon.
Structures and visions: readings from the poetry of Ali Abdullah khalifa, edited by Abdulsattar Jamai. Khayal Publishing and Translation House, Algeria – 2021.
Structures and Visions was translated into French by Dr. Shukri Al-Maimouni – University of Rennes, France, published by the French House of L’Armattan in Paris 2021.
Structures and Visions was translated by Dr. Mary Saad Asel – Michigan University, America, Published by the American iuniverse house – Michigan.

Awards

First Poetry Prize – This is Bahrain magazine, 1966.
Creativity Shield – on World Poetry Day 2004 for his overall poetic output and his pioneering role in the modern Bahraini poetry movement – Bahraini Writers Association
The Grand International Prize in the Field of Arts – International Academy of East and West – Romania 2006.
Sharjah International Award for Cultural Heritage from the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, April 2018.
China’s Global Cultural Communication Prize, China, October 2018.

Honorary academic degrees:

Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the International Giuseppe Seclona University – United States of America, 1987
Honorary Diploma from the International Arts Academy of East and West in the Field of Arts – Romania 2006.

Medals:

Cultural Competence Medal presented by Tunisia’s late President Habib Bourguiba at the Arabic Poetry Festival, 1973
Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa Medal, Bahrain, 2000

First Class Competence Honour from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, 2002