The UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS), supported by the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission, has launched the publication of Tracing the Ether: Contemporary Poetry from Saudi Arabia at the Riyadh International Book Fair on October 3, 2025. This expansive bilingual anthology, edited and introduced by Dr. Moneera Al-Ghadeer, brings together sixty two poems by twenty-six of the most compelling poetic voices from Saudi Arabia today, offering a critical and imaginative engagement with literary form, experimentation, and digital culture by focusing on contemporary and millennial poets. Tracing the Ether marks a deliberate departure from the centrality of Western studies on the pre-Islamic canon and repositions Saudi poetry and long last influence within a transnational and technologically mediated literary field. Whether reckoning with algorithmic erasure, reconfiguring the lyric self, crafting new grammars of belonging, or connecting the cultures with each other the poets of the anthology articulate a voice that is rooted in its local culture and radically global in its reach.

At the Riyadh International Book Fair, selected poets from Tracing the Ether— Abdulwahab Bozaid, Mastora Alorabi, and Mohamed Kheder— presented poems featured in the anthology followed by a discussion on their poetic journeys, chaired and moderated by Dr. Hatem Alzahrani, who, as both poet and academic, skillfully guided the conversation to address the aesthetics of translation and the critical intersection of Arabic poetics with digital culture. UNESCO Chair Moneera Al-Ghadeer emphasized that by bringing these important poetic voices to a global audience, Tracing the Ethercontributes to a richer, more nuanced understanding of modern Arabic literature and its place in world literature. The Chair anticipates that this book launch will seed further research projects, translation workshops, and partnerships with universities and cultural institutions that advance the UNESCO Chair’s broader mission of promoting cross-cultural dialogue, scholarly cooperation, and innovative translation studies.