Dubai: As part of its programme to celebrate foreign culture and literature, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library, in cooperation with Alliance Francaise Dubai, organised a French literary evening titled "Readings from the Poetry of Charles Baudelaire: Between Light and Shadows".

According to Emirates News Agency, the evening was presented by researcher Said Nourine, president of the association, and moderated by translator Ghassan Nabbout. The event highlighted Baudelaire's world, as one of the most iconic figures of modern poetry in the nineteenth century, through a critical reading and cultural dialogue addressing key milestones in his life and works.

Nourine reviewed Baudelaire's biography, noting the struggle between downfall and rise, and explained how exile, suffering, and family rejection were reflected in his career, transforming pain into a source of creativity. He examined the pivotal tension in Baudelaire's poetry "Spleen and Ideal", showing how Baudelaire transformed boredom and alienation into poetic energy.

The session also addressed the contrast in Baudelaire's poems, where the duality of evil and transcendence intertwined in a structure blending human seduction with the desire for elevation through art. It explained Baudelaire's aesthetic vision based on paradox and contradiction.

Nourine compared the poetry of Baudelaire and Al-Mutanabbi, highlighting the points of convergence between the two poets in their belief in the poetic self and the intensification of the human experience in its tragic and existential dimensions.

With a large turnout, the discussions and readings provided an opportunity to reflect on Baudelaire's poetic duality between light and shadows, and to explore new approaches that connect Western and Arabic literary experiences.

Through these events, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library seeks to reinforce its role as a beacon of knowledge and culture, fostering dialogue between cultures and bringing readers closer to the world's most prominent literary experiences. This strengthens Dubai's position as a hub for thought and creativity.