5 - Wael Al Sayegh

The Poetryhood | الحيّ الشعري

Wael Al-Sayegh is an Emirati Poet and Martial Arts instructor born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

He is the author of three poetry collections: “A Poet’s Oud” (2006), “I Often Wonder” (2007), and “There is an Elephant in the Majlis” (2011).

In this conversation, we discover Wael’s relationship to writing and to martial arts and how these two art forms came together in his life. We also talk about our mutual fears of writing in Arabic and in the Arab world, the refusal to be enslaved by jobs we hate, and about Al Areen Martial Arts, Wael’s Dubai-based martial arts academy.

Wael’s Instagram: @wael.alsayegh

Al Areen Martial Arts’ Website: https://alareenclub.com

Here is one of my favorite lines from a poem which Wael reads to us during the episode:

“I’d rather ride a donkey to work than a fancy car that makes me a mule to the bank.”

Happy Poetry Listening!