Over the past decade, the intensification of war and the deepening crisis in Yemen have triggered profound transformations in the country’s cultural scene. One of the most notable shifts has been the move from the dominance of poetry to the flourishing of narrative prose, particularly the novel. This transition, which coincided with the decline of cultural infrastructure and the shrinking of publishing spaces, appears to reflect a change in the literary temperament of Yemenis, as language becomes a tool to capture fragmentation rather than to celebrate absolutes.
Even before the war, Yemen’s cultural reality was hardly thriving. The years preceding the war saw growing challenges in publishing, a decline in the number of new releases, and reduced interest in reading. According to researcher Intisar Al-Omari, the General Book Authority1 published only 69 books over five years (1995–2000), while the private sector produced just 383 books in the same period. An official statistic published in early 2015 indicated that the number of cultural events had halved, before ceasing entirely with the escalation of war, resulting in an almost complete paralysis of publishing, printing, and distribution activities.
These challenges extended beyond the cultural sector to affect the writers themselves. Many were forced to leave the country or work in fields unrelated to their literary interests. Some even sold their personal libraries, while others were deprived of medical care or financial support. These harsh conditions pushed many to reconsider their modes of expression and seek new mediums capable of accommodating the complexities of reality.
A profound change in cultural preferences
Against this backdrop, the novel began to assert itself as the dominant literary form. Instead of poetry—which had long been Yemen’s preeminent art form—the novel emerged as a suitable vehicle for confronting the social and psychological ruptures caused by war. This transformation was aided by the rise of digital platforms, which offered broader opportunities for self-publishing and connecting with new readers, as well as by individual initiatives and small cultural institutions striving to support Yemeni narrative despite scarce resources.
According to a bibliography compiled by Dr. Ibrahim Abu Talib, Yemeni novels experienced a remarkable surge over the past decade. From 2010 to mid-2022, 373 novels were published — a figure three times greater than the total produced in all previous decades combined. In comparison, 189 short story collections and 40 collections of very short stories were published in the same period, indicating a clear shift toward narrative and its diverse forms.
Dr. Abu Talib argues that these numbers are not merely statistical ; they signal a qualitative transformation in the cultural mood, where narrative becomes a means of engaging with a difficult reality and offering literary critique. Critics and academics have also shifted their focus away from poetry toward the study and analysis of the novel, viewing it as more relevant to the current Yemeni experience.
Looking back at previous decades, the 1990s were the golden age of Yemeni poetry, not only in output but also in social presence. Book fairs were seasons for poetic competition, regular poetry evenings were held, and both official and private institutions sponsored the publication of poetry collections. Abu Talib attributes the flourishing of poetry in the 1990s to two main factors. The first is that poetry served as an expression of a pivotal political era in the country’s history: the achievement of Yemeni unification2. Poetry articulated the triumph of the Yemeni will for a unified identity and existence. It also reflected the relative and tangible stability Yemen experienced during that period, according to Dr. Hassan Al-Naami, lecturer in Contemporary Literature at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), in his book Poetry for Victory, Narrative for Defeat.
The second factor, as Abu Talib notes, was the influence of two major figures in Yemeni poetry : Abdullah Al-Baradouni3and Abdulaziz Al-Maqaleh4. Each represented an enduring school of thought that left a significant mark on both the Yemeni and the broader Arab literary scenes.
Dr. Abu Talib also highlights the crucial role of media and publishing in this renaissance. The expansion of print, audio, and visual platforms contributed greatly to the spread of poetry and the emergence of new poets. Leading this movement were two print publications : the Al-Thawra’s Cultural Addendum and Al-Thaqafiya, published by the newspaper Al-Jumhuriya. These outlets created a unique cultural phenomenon and atmosphere that elevated poetry, presenting it to readers in an appealing manner, and fostering a spirit of poetic competition. Additionally, poetry readings, institutions, salons, and monthly clubs in the capital and across other provinces all contributed to this vibrant literary scene.
Changes in literary production standards
However, this presence gradually eroded with the disappearance of cultural magazines and shrinking state support, culminating in the outbreak of war, which changed both the standards of literary production and reception. Dr. Abu Talib perceives the connection between crisis and narrative as logical, drawing on the second part of Hassan Al-Naami’s book title, Narrative for Defeat. However, he contends that this “defeat” is metaphorical rather than tangible. The defeat experienced by Yemenis over the past decade and beyond is profound and devastating, manifested in the shattering of dreams and the fracturing of identity within a society that has grown divided, troubled, and exhausted by a multitude of crises: war, conflict, exile, chaos, pain, sorrow, absence and enforced disappearance, and an overwhelming sense of loss.
This transformation is reflected not only in statistics but also in the personal journeys of many writers. For instance, poet Ahmed Al-Salami, renowned for his prose poetry, published his first novel, Permissible Skies, in 2023. Set against the backdrop of war, the novel examines the individual’s relationship with society and the pervasive daily violence, shifting between village and capital while exploring the intricate dynamics of tribal and political ties. Al-Salami believes that the decline of poetry began with the disappearance of cultural magazines and collective publishing platforms, while the advent of social media allowed everyone to write poetry, ultimately diminishing its former authority and symbolic weight.
Al-Salami views the literary mood shift in the new millennium as part of a broader transformation within the Arab literary landscape. He argues that Arab literary scenes cannot be separated from one another :
“not merely because we share a common language, but because we are bound by a shared context. Our disasters are alike, our crises are intertwined, and publishing trends tend to follow the prevailing currents. Moreover, new developments in cultural streams and audience reception in the digital age have effectively globalized the Arab literary scene, leaving no country with a distinctive or exceptional literary identity or mood.”
Poet and publisher Hani Al-Sallawi views the novel as a temporal vessel that allows the writer to accompany the reader for longer. He considers the shift to narrative a natural result of the collapse of cultural infrastructure, with the novel serving as both a creative and commercial solution. After publishing seven poetry collections, Al-Sallawi released his first novel in 2023, emphasizing that narrative does not exclude poetry but rather expands its horizons.
On the other hand, some poetic voices maintain that poetry has not lost its role, but it is a more sophistacated genre. Poet Mohieddin Jarma argues that poetry’s density and ability to condense meaning make it indispensable, even within novels, which often borrow poetic language and imagery in a broader narrative structure. He contends that poetry should not be measured by readership or circulation, but by the depth of its impact and its capacity to endure despite market fluctuations.
Literary awards, a gateway to export
This transformation is not limited to individual experiences but is also reflected in institutional trends. In 2021, the Hazawi Award for narrative was established, followed by the Mohammed Abdul Wali Prize. Their timing suggests they were created to keep pace with the narrative momentum, albeit with limited resources. However, recent US sanctions on Yemen and Kuwait Bank, the sole supporter of the Hazawi Award, and the lack of sustainable funding for the second prize, threaten their continuity5. Novelist Nadia Al-Kawkabani, founder of the Hazawi Award, states that her choice of narrative was not an artistic preference but a response to a specific cultural moment, seeing the novel as a medium capable of capturing complexities and giving voice to new perspectives. She stresses that while literary awards do not create literature, they can foster an encouraging environment and open doors for talents that have long remained in the shadows.
As local and international publishers increasingly invest in Yemeni novels, reader engagement with these works has grown both inside and outside Yemen, despite ongoing logistical challenges in book distribution within the country. New writers are emerging, including more young people and women, such as Nadia Al-Kawkabani and Bushra Al-Maqtari, who have no experience in poetry and are directly involved in the novel genre. Overall, the novel today appears better equipped to capture the Yemeni moment and its intertwined complexities. Narrative has become a refuge for those fleeing war and displacement, a means of reconstructing self and memory in a fragmented world. This explains why an increasing number of Yemeni poets are turning to the novel — not as a passing experiment, but as an artistic and existential choice that responds to an era full of questions and contradictions.
Translated from Arabic by Driss Amjich.
1It is a governmental agency affiliated with the Yemeni Ministry of Culture and responsible for the book and publishing sector. Its main tasks include registering books at the National Library.
2In 1990, the Arab Republic of Yemen in the north and the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen in the south reunited.
3Blind since the age of six, imprisoned several times for his criticism of the government, and committed to women’s rights, Abdullah Al-Baradouni is considered a national poet in Yemen.
4An academic and president of Sanaa University for two decades, Abdulaziz Al-Maqaleh is considered the country’s leading modern poet.
5However, there is still the Arab Novel Prize, sponsored by the United Arab Emirates, which has a wide reach throughout the region and has helped to bring a number of writers to prominence in recent years, including some from the Gulf. The winner of the prize also has their novel translated into English.