Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Dawish was one of the leading Nabati poets and a founder of the Kuwaiti Writers Association. Born in 1919 or 1921 in the Al-Qibla neighborhood of Kuwait, he passed away on September 29, 1994. His father, Abdulaziz Al-Dawish, was also a well-known Nabati poet.
Abdullah Al-Dawish studied at Mubarakiya School, worked as a diver and traveled to India and East Africa. He authored 14 diwans and collections of Zuhairi poetry. Influenced by his predecessors Mohammed bin Al-Uboun, Abdullah Al-Faraj, Humoud Nasser Al-Bader and Hamad Al-Maghlouth, he practiced his creativity in Nabati, Zuhairi, and Mawwal poetry. He was also a founder of the Kuwaiti Artists Association.
Nabati poetry is a form of local vernacular poetry widespread among nomadic and settled Arabs, unrestricted by modern classical Arabic grammar rules, with roots dating back to pre-Islamic times. Dawish once noted that poets of the past lived in harsh conditions, which gave Nabati poetry its strong words, in contrast to the softer nature of contemporary poetry.
Zuhairi poetry, a form of Nabati poetry that emerged from southern Iraq and spread to the Gulf and the rest of the Arab world, is characterized by seven lines: The first three lines share the same rhyme, the next three lines have a different rhyme, while the last line returns to the original rhyme. A Mawwal is a form of sung poetry famous throughout the Arab world, allowing the singer to improvise with the myriad musical scales of Arab music.
Dawish’s poetry career was a side pursuit alongside his work at the Kuwait Oil Company from 1943 until 1950, and at the Kuwait Municipality from 1950 until 1970. He once said: "Poetry is not a career one pursues to make a living. I’ve worked as a sailor, diver, traveler and trader, and after that, I worked at KOC and the Municipality.”
He wrote his first Zuhairi poem in 1937, despite some early attempts in classical Arabic. His poems often expressed societal concerns and problems. One of his most important poetry collections is "Diwan of the Poet Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Dawish”, published in 1968. Another successful collection is "Diwan Al-Zuhairi”, a collection of famous Mawwal poems, published in 1971. His book "Poetry from Nabati Poets” collected the works of about 66 of the most famous Nabati poets in Kuwait and the Arab world in its first part.
Several musicians have included his poetry in their songs, including Aisha Al-Marta, Abdullah Ruwaished, Mohammed Abdu, Abdulmohsen Al-Muhanna, Ghareed Al-Shati and many more.