Up until the late 19th century, departing from the conventional path of writing in formal Arabic as a poet or writer carried a social stigma within mainstream literary circles. Poetry written in colloquial Egyptian Arabic was deemed a lesser form of art, primarily intended for the uneducated masses. The term Shi’r, designating poetry, was exclusively reserved for verse written in formal Fuṣḥā, revered as the epitome of eloquence. During the 1960s, a transformative movement emerged in the form of colloquial poetry, seeking to challenge these norms and elevate the status of dialectical expression. At the vanguard of this revolutionary movement were Salah Jahin and Fuad Haddad, who introduced the term shi’r al-ammiya, or “Arabic colloquial poetry.” Over time, Jahin and Haddad’s fame grew to rival that of many distinguished Fuṣḥā poets. In the wake of shi’r al-ammiya, a myriad of poets were inspired to write not only in ‘ammiya colloquial Arabic, but also in their native regional Egyptian dialects, such as Fallahi or Sa’idi – the dialects spoken respectively in the rural delta and in Upper Egypt. While dialect poetry did not attain the same widespread acclaim as colloquial poetry…
