JEDDAH — Saudi poet and writer Ali Al-Dumaini died on Monday (April 25) at the age of 74 following a long illness. With his death, the Saudi, Arab, and human cultural scenes have lost a talented figure that excelled for 50 years. Al-Dumaini was born in the village of Mahdara in the Al-Baha region in 1948. He is one of the most important modern poets, writers and activist. He was a key figure in the development of the contemporary poetic movement in Saudi Arabia, and his name became synonymous with the modernity movement. Al-Dumaini's voice in modernist poetry is also considered one of the most important in the eighties, because of its originality and boldness during that time. Al-Dumaini's poetry is known for its excellent quality and range of existential and forward-thinking subjects. Some of his works include "The Winds of Sites," "The Whiteness of Times," "Beads of Time," and "With its wings ringing the window bells." His poem "The Desolation" is one of the most well-known poetries in the Arab world. Al-Dumaini also oversaw the famed "Al-Mirbad" cultural supplement in Al-Youm newspaper in the 1980s, and later launched Alnas Aljadid (The New Text), a pioneering cultural magazine from Dammam that was published in the early eighties and incorporated modern experiences and texts. Al-Dumaini has a number of publications in the press and cultural activities, including articles, prose, and poetry, as well as two novels, "The Leading Cloud" and "Days in Cairo and Other Nights" in the field of literature. Many pioneers of social networking sites, for their part, mourned the poet and writer's death and praised the late poet's virtues.
