Poet & Media Figure Maysoon Abu Baker: Poetry is My Homeland; Saudi Arabia is My Tribe, Belonging, & Entire Universe

With a serene and kind demeanour, Maysoon Abu Baker has been successful in drawing Saudi and Arab audiences to the Kingdom’s television, occasionally with news shows and other times with thought, literature, and cultural programmes, as well as with a unique media presence.

Interviewed by: Mohsen Hassan

Through a series of interviews with politicians, academics, and intellectuals with vast experience in the dialogue of civilisations, she has taken the initiative to present numerous significant and pressing visions and issues. Her ideas, along with the flavour of experience, study, and inquiry, as well as the independence of a loyal lover, have influenced her perceptions of contemporary humanity.

She has swum—and still swims—in the Arab geographic space, believing in her Arabism to the core and always viewing others with the chivalrous eye she learnt as a child and grew to love as an adult.

As a result, she never undervalues the importance of being a woman and never loses her dignity or seriousness in the struggles of intellectual, cultural, and literary involvement. Instead, she is completely ready to compete with men in any way now and in the future.

That’s her vision, and that’s her presence. She is the poet and media personality Maysoon Abu Baker, a native of the Levantine desert, a foster child of the house of poetry and the desert wind, where her history is influenced and her poetry is derived from memory stories, and where her ancestors’ caravans left in Shammar to travel north across the peninsula to Najd, that welcoming homeland whose dreams and aspirations she touched and whose pulse shaped her.

Arabisk London – Saudi Arabia conducted this interview with her, which is filled with revelations and outpourings.

First, do you care more about the media or literature and poetry these days?

Poetry began as a hobby, a life project, and a way for me to express my emotions and the emotions of people I come into contact with. As such, it is a pastime that I work hard to keep fresh by publishing new poetry collections, translating poems into languages that other people can understand, or taking part in local and international poetry events.

It is both my friend and my platform for other people. Since I was happy with the collection (The Body of Words), which the publishing house (Eric Bonnier) recently published a French translation of, my most recent creation is a compilation of brand-new poetry that is presently undergoing translation and printing.

I frequently find it resonates with French speakers in Monaco and the South of France, which is my second home, as well as with a group of friends that I meet in my monthly cultural salon or with whom I attend seminars and intellectual and scientific gatherings.

Additionally, I should not overlook the recent Kingdom of Morocco (Saudi and Moroccan Poets Forum) at Mohammed I University in Oujda and Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdullah University in Fez. It was a fantastic forum in every way, with the well-known Oujda band performing and the atmosphere infused with words, letters, and melody. It served as a genuine cultural link between the Arab Maghreb and the Levant.

What’s going on in your illustrious media career right now?

The #Maison_Podcast is my most recent media endeavour. I am currently getting ready for a new podcast on MBC FM, which will also air on the Shahid platform, in the wake of the enormous success of the Riyadh Podcast, which was born out of the Al-Riyadh newspaper and celebrated the creative cultural scene. It had a big impact on cultural media.

Both platforms draw large audiences, and I anticipate a local, Arab, and international scene with innovative visitors from a variety of industries. I firmly believe that culture transcends all boundaries, nationalities, colours, and races, and that the younger generation should be given a cultural dose that guides them through the online channels that may have supplanted traditional media.

As a poet who started out in cultural media, I have always aimed to expand the cultural landscape by going beyond the local context. In addition to the Gulf and Arab nations, I have recorded episodes in Paris, Brazil, Korea, China, and Africa as part of my global media project since its inception.

How have a homeland and alternative homeland influenced your travels and place of residence? What is your level of confidence in the resilience of Arab identity against modern Westernisation?

Homeland is more than just a place; it’s a sense of allegiance, love, loyalty, and belonging. It’s a collection of spiritual and material elements that complete a person’s identity and sense of belonging. Homeland is like a mother, raising and embracing a person in addition to giving birth. Growing up in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was my destiny, as homeland is more than just identification documents.

Through my media messages—my teachers were giants in the cultural media—and my experiences with Saudi state television, where I met with decision-makers and witnessed numerous events and stances of the Kingdom, which was the champion of just humanitarian causes and its sister Arab and Islamic countries, the relationship between the history I read, the civilisation that amazed me, and the poetic heritage I grew up with, as well as between the reality I lived and the land on which I gave birth to my children and to which I belonged—deepened.

I was merely a beloved Saudi citizen and the rib of my husband Fahd, one of the sons of Najd’s heart; my heart shattered in the embrace of this country like lavender and wormwood. In many instances, I saw their positions, simplicity, generosity, care for others, and humanity, which enabled me to absorb their love and spread my media message in support of the cultural scene and its creators.

I witnessed the cultural channel’s inception in 2010 and its celebration of regional and Arab culture. In addition to the reasons I mentioned, I belong to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia because it is the balance of our Arab and Islamic worlds. Poetry is my homeland, and the Kingdom is my tribe. Its strength and presence make our world right.

In the Saudi context, your programme “Sails” was a first for women in the media. How did this programme’s concept originate? And what did it teach you about the civilisational identity, culture, and legacy of the Kingdom?

In the Year of the Child, His Excellency the Minister of Education, Mr. (Jassim Al-Marzouq), gave the young girl the title of “youngest journalist in Kuwait.” It was also a memory of the captain and the boats that carried the name Sails ‘Al-Ashre’ya,’ which was given to the first programme launched in 2005 by the news channel on the official Saudi television. These are just a few of the charming memories that lingered in my mind from my childhood.

Intellectuals from all around the world, including Barbara Michalak, Abdullah Al-Jafri, and Hanna Mina, called, wrote, and sent me messages praising their creative accomplishments. I couldn’t express how happy I was to hear the program’s echoes.

As a poet, I celebrated intellectual joy with a programme travelling across four continents, supported by cultural channel captain Mohammed Al-Tunisi and Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Madani. The programme featured a female poet travelling between archaeological sites and meeting creative individuals in challenging situations. Outdoor museums in a continent-sized nation display the rich cultural legacy, showcasing the joy of intellectuals.

Even though this programme is only twenty minutes long and a documentary, it has captured the attention of Saudi and Arab viewers and left them with enduring memories. This suggests that, in contrast to popular beliefs about the appeal of cultural programmes and the dislike, this kind of programme celebrates the preferences of Arab people and evokes their feelings.

Giants like Hamad Al-Qadi, Dr. Saad Al-Bazie, and Muhammad Reda Nasrallah have all appeared on Saudi television to present cultural programmes. The fact that a woman was presenting a cultural programme made my show stand out at the time, in contrast to the family and children’s programming that was then the standard for female media professionals.

How satisfied is Maysoon Abu Baker with the local, regional, and international representation of Saudi women as poets and writers? What is missing from this scenario?

Saudi women, including international scholars Ghada Al-Mutairi, Dr. Salwa Hazza, and Thuraya Obaid, the Executive Director of the United Nations, and Mona Khazindar, the Director-General of the Arab World Institute in Paris, have long been represented in international fora.

It may surprise you to learn that there are more women in the Saudi Shura Council than in the US Congress. During the Vision era, which was ruled by King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the revolutionary Prince Mohammed bin Salman, women’s labour was viewed differently by society and many new fields were opened. Changes also occurred in other judicial, social, and other areas. I recall how timid women were in cultural media during the time of ‘Al-Ashre’ya’ (The Sails). Now, however, take a look at the presence of Saudi women on both Arab and local channels.

After many debates and media interviews, how do you assess the role of the Arab intellectual elite in our Arab world? What are your biggest concerns about them?

My opinion here will irritate a large number of intellectuals, as I condemn many of their positions and opinions, whether they misled society with erroneous views, bravado, and the slogans they long advocated, which time has proven to be false, but they still cling to them.

Alternatively, those who served as mouthpieces for slanted media outlets that caused chaos on Earth and among humanity by portraying leaders as devils and homelands as hell. Intellectuals should be doing more at this time rather than betraying their country by exposing themselves to the overt and covert enemy. The images of these individuals submitting to the adversaries of safety, stability, and peace still hurt me.

What is your perspective on the conflict between literary genres? And how do you view the tension between poetry and novels in our forums and Arab publishing houses?

Every creative genre contributes to the literary landscape and enhances it through artistic rituals. We must stop evaluating texts according to their literary genre; it is enough for them to be a magnificent piece of art. The scene has been worn down by the intense disputes and arguments over classical poetry and the validity of prose poetry, which have resulted in fruitless skirmishes.

When we read Ghada al-Samman’s works, for instance, we praise her without even addressing whether or not her poetry or prose is ultimately creative and enhances Arabic content.

You defend the prose poem and invoke Arab taste in support of it. Classical poetry, what about it? Does it remain present in that flavour?

After a few years, for a variety of reasons, I switched from writing classical poetry to free verse poetry to prose poetry. It could have been because of my experience’s maturity or my propensity to follow the structure that metre and rhyme impose, which could result in poetry that lacks originality.

Additionally, my poems from five years ago were impacted by my time spent in France, where I was exposed to French philosophy and culture, as well as the broader development of European culture. I struggled with the poem and with myself until I decided to pursue my new writing career.

In your mid-twenties, you were overcome by the power of poetry. At what point did the short story’s power overwhelm you? In your world, will the novel’s power recur frequently?

I started writing poetry at the age of fourteen, and with my mother’s support, I published my first collection (Poetic Horizons) while I was in high school. In my thirties, I wrote short stories before beginning the novel (Cities and Women), which is so daring that it hasn’t been published yet. I worry that it will enrage my mother, who will still criticise and reject some of the novel’s elements even if it passes the censor’s scrutiny.

Publishing it is still an idea, and my rebellious attitude towards intellectual limitations will probably be the driving force behind breaking my temporary promise not to publish it, even though I am not sure if it is a novel or a literary text of a different genre belonging to another classification.

What has changed in your writing style between your collections (Poetic Horizons, 1999) and Sea-Coloured Seagulls, (2010)? How have your beliefs and ideas about poetry and literature evolved?

Naturally, we claim that every writing experience is superior to the one before it, but then we find it insignificant in front of a newborn, and so on. Over time, the poet’s ideas, convictions, and life lessons evolve along with his experiences. Despite what some poets say, poems are not like sons. Because he thinks that there is more to come, that every stage has its harbingers, and that the most beautiful is yet to come, there are frequently those of which he is proud and those of which he tries to turn the page on without even attempting to go back to or read.

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Based on your many experiences attending Arab cultural festivals, what benefits and drawbacks do you observe? What do you think about Saudi Arabia’s cultural salons and their function?

I have performed on many stages all over the world, including at universities, festivals, and other gatherings. From the poet’s heart to the embrace of poetry lovers, the platform serves as a bridge connecting his lungs to his audience. It’s the garden where his soul and letters grow.

When I greet the audience and see how they respond to my poems—which I select based on their needs—I grow and become enthralled with poetry on the platforms. Some festivals have drawn criticism for their small venues, the use of the same names by all of the participants, and their sporadic cliques.

The Kingdom’s cultural salons, which are named after the days of the week, like the single and the two, are old and have a history. They are associated with cultural people and host guests who come to the Kingdom on a regular basis. They have gone above and beyond the call of duty in their varied proposals and intimacy, and they have contributed significantly to the cultural scene. Some examples of these salons are the two-day Abdul Maqsoud Khoja and the Thursday of Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Manqour, may God have mercy on him, among many others.

What, in your opinion, has Vision 2030 altered Saudi citizens’ beliefs? And how do you think the Kingdom’s media supports human development?

For the Kingdom and its citizens, who were eager for its provisions and a new way of living in every way, Vision 2030 drew a new map. Entertainment and culture are a way of life, and economic diversification relied on the nation’s abundant resources, its people and young people who were empowered, and its women who were lucky enough to be acknowledged internationally.

The Saudi people, I assure you, were ready for the new phase and the vision. In addition to Saudi tourists and young people who were engrossed in a variety of sports and electronics and who excelled in cybersecurity and innovation, hundreds of thousands of international students returned home with a culture that was open to others. The young prince, the vision’s sponsor, who comes from this group that makes up 70% of society, supported all of these. The vision and strategy it has chosen include the media. It is its mirror, and it follows its path.

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You belong to the Saudi Journalists Association. What is vital for the Kingdom’s press and media system’s next phase?

Indeed, I was among the founding members of the Saudi Journalists Association and was the recipient of one of its significant honours in its infancy. The Association has a new youthful spirit today, led by my colleague Adwan Al-Ahmari, a distinguished journalist and media professional whose tireless and distinguished efforts have helped structure this important entity in light of a new era, greater openness to the world, and a significant presence for the Kingdom.

In summary, which of your mother’s leadership and your father’s chivalry has influenced your personality the most? And what do you want your kids to learn and grow up to be?

Home, family, and husband are the most important axis, despite my obsession with media work, which is a challenging job, my frequent travels, my cultural activities at various international forums, and the working papers I present at universities worldwide.

Nothing has ever diverted my attention from them, and it never will. A distinguished and hard-working woman is, in my opinion, unique in every manner. During a business trip to the Kingdom of Morocco for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Award for Translation, I met the distinguished Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Ansari and took his advice to heart.

Because no one can do your part, he told me at the time, “I see you are a bundle of energy and success, and my advice to you is not to forget the children amidst the noise of work.” I kept this priceless piece of advice close to my heart. I use the quote from Gibran Gibran that goes, “Your children are the children of life,” when I’m raising my kids.

After raising them and making sure they practise appropriate behaviours in front of others, I would rather let them make their own decisions and follow their interests. From a distance, I observe. I don’t give them advice, but I do tell them stories from my life. I whisper things to them that could be helpful, but I don’t give orders. Even if I’m wrong, I express my opinion and continue.

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