In a ceremony attended by Prince Turki al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz, a collection featuring all the works of Novelist Sheikh Abdullah bin Idris (1929-2021) was launched at the Riyadh International Book Fair.
The collection is composed of six volumes including his first critical book “Contemporary Poets of Najd” and “By the Editor in Chief” (a selection of his editorials in ‘Al Dawa’ newspaper), “Words in Most Beautiful Words” (research, studies, and articles in cultural and literary criticism), “The Rhyme of Life” (the late novelists autobiography), “His Life and his Traces” (bibliography featuring what Bin Idris wrote, what was written about him over 70 years, and a selection of his articles and interviews).
In a brief keynote he addressed during the ceremony, Prince Turki al-Faisal recalled that bin Idris played a major role in establishing the Riyadh Literary Club, saying “we consider ourselves the children of the late novelist. Many of his peers admitted his wide knowledge and grace, he was loved and respected by all those who knew him.”
The ceremony was attended by intellects, visitors of the fair, and Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Sabeel, chairman of the Board of Trustees of King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue, who hailed the works of the late novelist, and lauded his children’s initiative aimed at preserving their father’s heritage.
The ceremony also saw a keynote by Ziad Idris, the son of the late novelist and Saudi Arabia’s former ambassador to UNESCO, in which he said: “Poet, writer, literary critic, editor-in-chief, and then again a poet who have works in all these fields.”
“While I was working in editing and reviewing these works, I remembered a question that I often had in my mind even when my father was alive: was my father Abdullah bin Idris a poet, or a critic, or a writer-journalist? I thought working on his heritage and works would help me answer this old question, but unfortunately it didn’t. When I read his poems, I said he was a poet before everything else; and when I wrote the “Contemporary Poets of Najd” and “Words in Most Beautiful Words”, I said he was a critic, then a poet; and when I read “By the Editor in Chief”, he seemed a writer-journalist as much as he was a poet and a critic.”
Bin Idris left a huge heritage of poetry, prose, intellect, and criticism in several fields for the Saudi and Arabic cultural circles. His works reflected his decent patriotism, sincere Arabism, consistent Islam, and kind humanity.
Abdullah bin Idris was a Saudi novelist and poet, and the former chairman of the Riyadh Literary Club. He served as the secretary general of the Higher council for sponsorship of the arts, science and literature; secretary general of Imam Mohammad bin Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), head of its culture department and member of its science council. He was also among the participants of the First Saudi Writers Conference.
