Right now, Abu Dhabi is establishing itself in the arts with projects like the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, Beats on the Beach and Abu Dhabi Art that aim to promote the city as a global cultural center and provide platforms for artists. More specifically, the poetry scene in Abu Dhabi is on the verge of gaining popularity, and various initiatives have sprung up such as Rooftops Rhythms, Poetic Evenings at Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi and Shahrzad at NYU Abu Dhabi.

Rooftop Rhythms is a monthly event that assembles poetry-lovers from Abu Dhabi on the top floor of the Hilton Hotel, where guests smoke shisha and enjoy the weather while listening to performances. According to organizer Dorian Paul Dogers, 320 people attended this month’s performance on Nov. 22, including tourists, foreigners and students, and signups filled up quickly. He said that the increasing turnout and excitement is overwhelming; however, his concern is not the number of people who show up but the poetry's quality.

"The Nov. 22 show was a first for many poets on the list,” said Dogers. “The Open Mic saw Rooftop Rhythms' first-ever performers from Saudi Arabia, Armenia and the Philippines. There were also many first-timers to the mic as well.”

PSUAD Political Science and Law major Farah Chamma organized an evening of poetry at PSUAD on Nov. 26. Chamma says that the idea came to her after performing at one of NYUAD's Open Mic nights.

“Rooftop Rhythms host Paul D. and I spoke about the possibility of creating a monthly or bimonthly interuniversity Open Mic night, and I am hoping this event kicks it off," said Chamma.

She invited students from NYUAD, Zayed University, Masdar Institute and Khalifa University. Chamma is interested in this event serving as a precedent for similar events that not only celebrate poetry, but also promote greater intercollegiate interaction.

Performances, which covered topics like race, loss and UAE’s National Day celebrations, offered glimpses into the diversity of thought and cultural perspectives within Abu Dhabi society.

Twice a month, students forget unfinished papers and upcoming commitments and go to the ninth floor's Florence-themed lounge to share stories. This is sophomore Joey Bui's Shahrzad — NYUAD's first Student Interest Group for storytelling.

Bui, a Literature major, embarked on the idea of a storytelling SIG named Shahrzad. The term Shahrzad is traditionally associated with the Persian storyteller of “One Thousand and One Nights.” With four nights of poetry encompassing the themes of accidents, firsts and missing, students have shared spellbinding stories and intimate details about parents, love-loss, religion, home and more. The idea for Shahrzad came to Bui over the summer while she was in New York and was inspired by poetry events happening around her. Her motive, she explained, is to provide a comfortable and motivational platform for people to share stories and secrets and to establish a strong writing community.

Freshman and regular participant, Lucas Olscamp said, "From first kisses to burnt cookies to broken hearts and rumbling bowels, these past three events with Shahrzad have been truly wonderful. It's these events that continue to inspire me to write and share what I do."

Senior and Theater major Yannick Trapman-O' Brien said there is something very precious about such a special setting — lounge, bean bags and butterbeer. He said that it mirrors what Open Mic used to be in its initial days: a spontaneous sharing platform with a lot of surprise; however, since Open Mic has evolved into a bi-semester performing stage, Shahrzad has emerged to fill that space of cozy secrets.

"Context: I am a bad person; I tend to be underwhelmed by and large — funnily enough, not really at Shahrzad and part of the reason, like I said, [is that] it is not a judgment place. If you present something to me, I'll tear it apart. When I present something, it is to be judged," said Trapman-O'Brien. He said Shahrzad, however, is not a platform for passing judgments.

Trapman-OBrien does not think that the frequency of events will deter the quality of the work being performed. He explained that given the university's unusual setting, the dynamics of the those attending will change considerably per semester, so it will be much more of what people make of it.

Other students have also commented on Shahrzad’s freedom from the judgment of Open Mic.