Born and raised in the UAE, Adel is a nomadic free spirit deeply immersed in the arts scene. He excels as a spoken-word poet, event curator, and art enthusiast. Adel served as a cultural ambassador for local spoken word initiatives.

Alaa is a Palestinian poet based in UAE who writes and performs poetry in Arabic.

Alysia is a spoken-word artist, writer and photographer based in the UAE. She is the co-founder of Just Entertainment, a platform for entertainment content and events.

Bayan is a Syrian poet who writes and performs with deep emotion. She is based in UAE and has a following of over 30,000 fans on TikTok.

Carlos is a Colombian American poet, speaker, actor, and inclusion strategist from New York City. He is the author of Fractures, winner of the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry, Hijito, winner of the Broken River Prize. A star of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, TV One’s Verses and Flow, and Spike Lee’s #1 box office movie Inside Man with Denzel Washington. Carlos is also a proud father of two.

Cheryl is a British poetess from Manchester who is based in UAE. She is passionate about writing and fitness.

Chloe is a poet based in the North of the UK. She is the Gold Winner of the 2020 Creative Future Writers’ Award. Her poems featured in anthologies by Bitter Melon and Bad Betty Press. Her writing has also featured in Poetry Birmingham Literary Journal, Ink Sweat & Tears, Bedtime Stories for the End of the World, bath magg, Strix, The North and Magma. She is particularly interested in mixedness, scrap ecology, and the tactile world.

Christine-Jean is an international educator, a writer, a performer and, above all, she is a storyteller. She holds a Master's in Public Administration with a concentration in Comparative Political Systems. She uses her experience, passion, and creativity to build bridges between what is occurring in our global society and its relevance to our communities and personal reality. She has received residencies and fellowships from Hedgebrook, VONA Voices, DreamYard, and The Watering Hole. Her work can be found in A Gathering of Tribes Magazine, Mer Vox, Burrows Press, Gumbo Magazine, and elsewhere.

Dana is an award-winning Palestinian American actress, poet, and humanitarian. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre from Columbia College Chicago. As a performance poet, Dana uses her theatrical background to bring her spoken word pieces to life while addressing various themes of social justice through her characters. Honored as Emirates Woman “Artist of the Year”, Dana also received the “Young Arab Award for Entertainment” in 2016.

Danabelle is a multi-awarded writer, actress, and photographer. She is the author of poetry books I Long To Be The River and & Until The Dreams Come and chapbooks Eventually, The River Surrenders, and Softer.

Dima is a writer, professor, actor and spoken word Beirut-based artist. Matta, a Fulbright scholar, holds an MFA in creative writing from Rutgers University. In 2014, they founded Cliffhangers, the first bilingual storytelling platform in Lebanon, and host monthly storytelling events along with storytelling workshops and performances. Their first play, “This is not a memorized script, this is a well-rehearsed story”, an autobiographical play on queerness and their relationship with the city toured in London, New York, and Belfast.

Hanna, or better known as Drink Sage, is a multi-genre artist of Palestinian-American heritage, who uses Jazz, Hip Hop, Blues and Neo-Soul to connect listeners to Source.

Dorian is a performance poet, Hip Hop artist, educator, and events curator. He is the founder of Rooftop Rhythms, a monthly open mic which has gone on to become one of the biggest events of its kind in the UAE and surrounding region.

Ehrlich’s poetry consists of a beautiful blend of pieces for the page and for the stage. He draws lessons from his personal and professional life and packages them into poetry pieces for the community.

Farah is a Palestinian poet and performer, best known for her spoken-word performances, in which she combines orality, acting, and live music. In February 2021, she and Brazilian music producer Liev launched chamæleon, a poetry and electronic music duo. She holds a master’s degree in Performance and Culture from Goldsmiths, University of London.

Faraz is a writer, performer and interdisciplinary-creative. He has been studying Urdu literature as both a creative tradition and a sociocultural phenomenon. And to this end, he has engaged in both deep study and experimentation. He founded two projects: one is Zer Zabar Paesh, an ongoing digital platform where he curates a variety of artistic and literary subjects. The other project, presented in 2015 under the title Project Ādāb, is a collection of 15 masterpieces of Urdu poetry which have been experimentally rendered for a digital interface.

Hakeem is a spoken word artist and actor. On top of being a great poet, Hakeem is an incredible educator for the youth. He is currently based in Baltimore, USA.

Harry is a British spoken word artist, author and poet, known for his heart, humour and blistering wordplay. He became the youngest ever Poetry World Slam champion in 2021. His first collection of poems, The Sunshine Kid, was published in 2014. He writes about hope, dinosaurs, self-acceptance, German falafel-spoons, and math. Millions have viewed Baker’s popular TEDX talks, in which he performs funny, ferociously intelligent poems, such as “Paper People.”

Hiba is a renewable energy professional by day and a writer by night. Born and brought up in the UAE, and now residing in Islamabad, her first book “The Little Handbook of Nostalgia” is an ode to her expat identity and the constant yearning for home.

Jamil is a Palestinian storyteller, writer, performer and dedicated community caretaker. He has founded The Poetryhood الحيّ الشعري, a pioneering all-encompasing poetry initiative. He is also the co-founder of Hamburger Generation جيل الهمبرجر, one of the region's most popular storytelling podcasts.

Joecool is one of the longest serving poets in Dubai. Also known as “Mr. Famous”, he is a firm believer in empowering the community with his poetry and always repeats his popular line "We Don't Die, We Multiply".

Lynn’s inspiration as a writer is greatly due to roaming the streets of Beirut and her everlasting ability to initiate curiosity, rage and beauty. Her poems delve into the city and the notion of not belonging in one’s identity and society. Her words started off as a release yet soon transformed into the constructive voice of a self- established extrovert.

Maher is a skilled spoken-word performer appearing in many poetry events with his comedic poems. Maher has a freestyle poetry technique that he performs occasionally.

Maria is a poet, a sister, a friend, a cook, an animal adorer and much more. She is based in Lebanon and has written many pieces of poetry with Beirut and the people in that city as her muse. She is the author of the poetry book “The Little Book of More Than’s” (2019).

Mohammad is a Lebanese spoken-word artist. He is an ever-present performer in poetry events across Lebanon. He performs pieces in English and Arabic.

Namal is a Pakistani spoken word poetess, creative writer and mountaineer. After working in advertising and tech start-ups for over a decade in the UAE, she went on to pursue a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Birmingham City University.

Nathalia is a writer, poet and storyteller. She has performed spoken-word on various stages across the UAE and the UK. She is also a lawyer, dancer and music fanatic.

Nidal is a multidisciplinary writer and artist based in the UAE. He taps into acting, film directing and screenwriting. According to Nidal poetry is “unbounded expression with conscious choice.”

Omar is a widely published poet, writer and critic. He taught at the American University in Dubai (AUD), where he was Associate Professor of English from 2014-2024. From Fall 2024 he began a new teaching role at the Lebanese American University (LAU). He is the author of a number of books, most recently, “Night Settles Upon The City” (2024), “RIP: Poems after Gaza & Words after Waddah” (2024), “Y Knots” (2023) amongst many more.

Osama writes and performs beautiful poetry in Arabic. He is the author of مليكة عيون الريم (2021). Osama balances between his passions of his work life in engineering and his creative life in Arabic poetry and writing.

Apart from being a poet, Raghdan is a certified energy healer and meditation guide. He is also an award winning architect and multidisciplinary experience designer.

Rasha is an oral historian and writer from Kuwait. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Willow Springs, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Common and Painted Bride Quarterly. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University.

Salem found solace in words and poetry from a very young age and after hearing about a poetry open mic in university in 2012 he realized his love for the stage and the art. Al Attas is the first Emirati slam Poet and a former Rooftop Rythms Grand slam champion.

Samar is the author of و في روايةٍ أُخرى (Malameh Publishing House, 2008), ماذا لو كنّا أشباحاً (Dar al-Ahlia Publishing, 2013), winner of the Palestinian Young Writer of the Year Award from the A.M. Qattan Foundation, and كوكب منسي (Dar al-Ahlia Publishing, 2016). Samar was recognized by the Danish Institute in Damascus for the best poems that reflect the status of Arab societies after the Arab Spring and its effect on youth. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Beirut Arab University and currently works in Dubai, UAE.

Sara is a Lebanese poet based in Beirut. She shares her poetry through her instagram page @myellowtypewriter and fulfills poem requests for tattoos.

Sara M Saleh is a writer/poet, human rights lawyer, and the daughter of Palestinian, Lebanese and Egyptian migrants. Her poems, essays and short stories have been published widely and she is co-editor of the ground-breaking 2019 anthology Arab, Australian, Other: Stories on Race and Identity. Her first novel is Songs for the Dead and the Living (Affirm Press, 2023). Her first novel, Songs for the Dead and the Living, and first poetry collection, The Flirtation of Girls/Ghazal el-Banat, were both released in 2023.

Storm is a fusion of poetry and hip-hop manifesting into the lyrical rapper that he is. Along with his top hit rap songs like The Camp Pain and Hearts and Hoodies, Storm also performs spoken-word pieces.

Suhaib is a Palestinian and Jordanian rapper and spoken-word artist based in Dubai, UAE. He has performed with Sways N’ Edges and is the host of Watr Podcast, speaking to the artistic youth in the region.

Wael is an Emirati Poet and Martial Arts instructor born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the author of three poetry collections: “A Poet’s Oud” (2006), “I Often Wonder” (2007), and “There is an Elephant in the Majlis” (2011).

Yaz is a Palestinian rapper and poet based between Chicago and Dubai. He has released hit singles like “Outbreak” and “Poser”.

Ziad is an Egyptian spoken-word poet. He uses his poetry to discuss mental and social issues that tackle his life as a nomad who moves between different Arab countries. His influence is deeply rooted in both Western and Eastern music and literature. His debut poetry book, Provoke, was published in 2018.