Ousha The Poet

• Name — Ousha bint Khalifa Al Suwaidi • Native Name — عوشه بنت خليفة السويدي • Born — 1920 • Birthplace — Al Ain, Trucial States • Died — 27 July 2018 • Place of death — Dubai, United Arab Emirates • Father — Khalifa Bin Al Sheikh Ahmad Bin Khalifa Al Suwaidi • Relatives — Ahmed Bin Khalifa Al Suwaidi (brother)

Ousha was born and raised in Al Ain and moved later in life to the emirate of Dubai. A prominent cultural figure, she is regarded as among the finest Arabic Nabati poets with a large number of her poems sung by popular Emirati and Arab artists. Her work has been influential in the development of Nabati poetry in the UAE, particularly among young female poets. At the age of 15, Ousha's talents were recognized by the poetry community for her poetry recitals, a noteworthy achievement at her time considering how male dominated the poetry field was.

Ousha's work was influenced by both classical poets such as Al-Mutanabbi, Abu Tammam and Al-Ma'arri, as well as local Nabati poets including Al Majidi bin Thahir, Rashid Al Khalawi, Saleem bin Abdul Hai and Mohsin Hazzani. In 1989, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai at the time, dedicated a poem from his first published collection giving her the sobriquet "Fatat Al Arab" instead of her original name "Fatat Al Khaleej" (Girl of the Gulf). Ousha's poetry works published in classical Arabic covered a variety of themes including patriotic sentiments, praise, nostalgia, wisdom and love. the females poets first book was published in 1990 by the Emirati poet Hamad Bin Khalifa Bou Shehab, a second edition of the book was later published in the year 2000. Fatat Al-Arab's poetry can be accessed on the poets official website at