ARAU, 6 November 2021 – 112 local and international poets and poetry enthusiasts gathered virtually on Saturday for the Arau International Poetry Festival 2021 (AIPF 21). The event, which was an extension of last year’s Arau Poetry Festival 2020 was organised by Academy of Language Studies, UiTM Perlis Branch and Research Interest Group (RIG) Digital Communicators in collaboration with RIG Suara Kreatif Madani (SuKMa), Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies and Innovation and Expertise Management Unit (InExMa), Division of Research, Industry, Community, Alumni, Entrepreneurship and Network (RICAEN), UiTM Perlis Branch.
The one-day event which was held on WebEx platform was officiated by the Deputy Rector of RICAEN UiTM Perlis, Associate Professor Ts Dr Shukor Sanim Mohd Fauzi. Despite being separated by distance, the virtual event received a positive response as it received participation from poets and poetry lovers from outside Perlis, including those from China and Indonesia. AIPF 21’s Chairperson, Mrs Nor Azira Mohd Radzi said, “We are truly overwhelmed by the partaking and cooperation received for the event. The support we received was beyond expectation and the sharing of poems by all participants have inspired and encouraged us to overcome this challenging situation. As humans, we need to connect and share our feelings and emotions in order to express our perspectives on certain issues”.
In the event, 92 budding and experienced poets shared their feelings and emotions through their original work in the form of poetry film or recorded recitation on the theme of Resilience and Hope. AIPF 21 provided a platform for poets to showcase their poems written in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia, Mandarin, Tamil and French. Moreover, the festival encouraged creativity and expression through the production of poetry films. Apart from poetry films and recitations, poets and audiences had the opportunity to attend sharing sessions on poetry presented by invited speakers – Mrs Nazira Osman, Mr Adi Afzal Ahmad and Dr Lew Ya Ling from Academy of Language Studies, UiTM Perlis; Associate Professor Dr M. Misbahul Amri from Faculty of Letters, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia; Miss Li Yue from Cangzhou Normal University, China; and Associate Professor Dr Zhu Gouwei and translator, Associate Professor Yang Hong from Xinyang Normal University, China.
Arau Poetry Festival which was the brainchild of Dr Latisha Asmaak Shafie, Head of Study Centre, Academy of Language Studies, UiTM Perlis Branch is expected to be held annually in November.