YEMEN: ART AND LITERATURE

Early art of the South Arabian region reflected much of what you saw in the classical era of art. Inscriptions and geometric designs were found on sculptures and architecture. Pre-Islamic art depicted scenes from daily life, battles, musicians, hunting, animals, and even meeting deities. Like other countries where the dominant religion is Islam, their art has been highly influenced by this religion, namely not being allowed to depict people anymore. Handicrafts include jewelry making, embroidery and textile art, and Islam-inspired architecture characterized by geometric designs and arches. They also did quite a bit of metalwork and created their own coins.

While Yemen was under British rule, they introduced many Western painting techniques and artistic styles. Many British artists also traveled to Yemen to paint its cities and landscape, but there are also a number of Yemeni artists who create in a number of mediums.

by Murad Subay

Some Yemeni artists of note include Murad Subay (contemporary street artist and political activist), Boushra Almutawakel (female photographer focusing on gender representation), Abdul Jabbar Numan (realism painter), Fuad Al-Futaih (painter, one of the first to promote graphic arts in Yemen), Saba Jallas (female artist, known for manipulating photos of smoke), Hashem Ali (plastic artist), Haider Galib (surrealism painter), and Sabri Al-Haiki (painter and art critic).

by Saba Jallas

For some reason, it was difficult to find an extensive history on Yemeni literature. With its influential kingdoms spreading South Arabian languages across that region during its early history, it’s reasonable to assume that there must have at least been written accounts from the royal courts and histories. I did find a book published by the British-Yemeni Society called From the Land of Sheba: Yemeni Folk Tales, although some of the stories originated from other areas. But the vast majority of literature from Yemen jumps to the 20th century. Perhaps the centuries of civil war and socio-political turmoil affected their ability to produce their own literature until then.

Poetry has been a dominant form of literature in the Arab world for many centuries with Yemen among them. There are quite a few poets from Yemen, include Abu Bakr al-Aydorus (sufism scholar and patron saint of Aden), Abdullah Al-Baradouri (considered Yemen’s most famous poet), Abd al-Rahman Fakhri (known as a modernist poet), Abdulnasser Mugali (writer and poet, known for his poems of Yemeni immigrants living in the US), and Shalom Shabazi (Jewish poet, considered the Poet of Yemen).

I love this painting of Abdullah Al-Baradouri

There are a number of novelists from Yemen who have produced a number of works as well. Many of them have had translations of their works published in a London-based literary magazine called Banipal, which aims to promote Arab literature. Authors of note include Ali al-Muqri (several of his novels were listed for the Arab Booker Prize), Zayd Mutee’ Dammaj (his novel The Hostage was included in the Top 100 Arabic novels of the 20th century), Abdallah Salim Bawazir (renowned short story writer, novelist, and columnist), Wajdi al-Ahdal (laureate of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2008), and Samir Abdel Fattah (novelist, short story writer, playright).

Wajdi al-Ahdal

Yemen also has a strong history of the theatre starting in the early part of the 20th century. Both amatuer and government-sponsored professional theatre troops entertained people in cities and towns across Yemen. Several of the poets and novelists mentioned above (and others) also wrote plays as well as had their works adapted for the stage. And although they celebrate their own Yemeni stageplays, they also perform other Western works by William Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, Luigi Pirandello, and Bertolt Brecht. Sana’a is famous for holding theatre festivals including participating in World Theatre Day.

Up next: music and dance