Ustaz Al-Fatih Hamadto Secretary-General, National Union of Sudanese Literates and Writers
18 February, 2013
KHARTOUM, (SUDANOW)—Your poems have focused on the romantic and national topics of poetry; will you explain why?
Hamadto: It is true that I have written a great deal of romantic poetry beside the national poetry. This did not mean I prefer the national to the romantic themes, but it happened that some national poems have outshone the romantic ones. However, I believe there will come a time when people will understand that the true poet is the one who can write both romantic and national poems. It depends on the genuine passion and responsible words the people like to hear.
Q: How do you rate your poetry?
A: I have written all kinds of poetry of its several widely known schools, rhythmical and metric poetry, but I have never dealt with the free poetry because I believe that poetry should be rhymed and lyrical.
.jpg)
Q: How do you view the contemporary poetry arena and schools?
A: The arena of today is full of poets who write fine poetry and I do not think I will exaggerate if I say the Sudanese poetry is among the most excellent poetry all over the Arab countries. In the past we were lacking in the media and the Arabs were not aware of the Sudanese poetry and its components, but now, due to the numerous satellite television channels and the cultural tours around the Arab countries, the Sudan voice has become heard. We have therefore keep in touch with the Arabs by making cultural tours through which we can further present our poetry production in all cultural forums.
Q: Could give us an idea about the establishment of the National Union of Sudanese Literates and Writers?
A: It was established in 1957, one year after Independence and over decades, the title was changed several times, starting with the Literates League, the National Union of Literates, the Sudanese Literates Union and finally its present title.
It was presided over by renowned Sudanese thinkers and literates, including Professor Abdulla Al-Tayeb, Mubarak Al-Mughrabi and Professor Oan Al-Sharif Gassim and is now led by Dr. Omar Ahmed Gadour who has assumed the presidency since 2005.
Q: To what extent can the Union influence the cultural awareness of the literates and writers in the Sudan?
A: We are quite satisfied with our performance despite the scarcity of the capabilities and resources and despite attempts by some people for undermining this lofty edifice which we have built over years and under difficult circumstances and with modest financial capabilities. But now, the Union has become famous throughout the Arab and African nations. It is a member to the Afro-Asian Writers Union in which Dr. Gadour is now secretary for membership affairs. Besides, we have acquired honorary membership of the Euro-Asian Writers Union, in addition to membership of the Pan-African Writers Union.
Q: How about participation of the Union in the social and cultural activities?
.jpg)
A: We have been participating in meetings of the Arab Union since 2005. We have visited several Arab, European and Asian countries where we have reflected the Sudanese culture which is hybrid of the Arab and African cultures which we have acquired as a result of our geographic position as a bridge between the Arab and African nations. And due to its accomplishments, the Sudanese Union has been selected to assume important positions in the high bodies of the African Union, including election of Dr, Gadour as Assistant Secretary-General for the African countries. Al-Fatih Hamadto (the interviewee) has been elected to be in charge of freedoms in the countries which contribute to the Arab Union.
Q: Your birthplace, Omdurman, is frequently mentioned in your poems; what impact does this city have on your career as a poet, an author and a literate? Could you speak of a bit of your autobiography? Do you have books of your poetry?
A: I have four books of my poetry and the fifth one will appear in the near future. They are chronologically titled: Time for Grief, Omdurman Panorama, Secret of Singing and the Khalifa Guards. The last book I have presented to four renowned literates of Omdurman who had a great impact on my poetry career. I was greatly influenced by their writings and, moreover, they were y teachers in different stages of education, acquiring a great deal of their boundless knowledge They were: Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, Al-Sir Doleeb, Awa Ahmed Mustafa and Mahdi Mohamed Saeed, all from Omdurman.
Q: There were numerous poets who have enriched the literary and cultural life for years. Who of them has influenced your literary character?
A: It is said that a poet in the offshoot of his environment and I fully believe in this saying. I was born in Omdurman, specifically in Bait Al-Mall quarter by the great River Nile, which means we are the first people to drink from it after the White Nile and Blue Nile get together in the Confluence in Khartoum and form the River Nile which we, the inhabitants of Bait Al-Mall, are the first to greet. I’m [positive that there is a relationship between this and the creativity of the inhabitants of Omdurman. The city is crowded with creative people, not only poets and artists but also with original handicraft people who skillfully produce leather ware, caps, pottery, bedsteads and boats in Abu Roaf quarter. Creativity is a feature of the inhabitants of Omdurman who are always in the lead in all fields. This environment was the influential element of my early life and early formation of my character. It was the immediate impact on whatever I have written and I may say that the most beautiful this I wrote was about my love for this great city to which I owe everything I possess.
.jpg)
Q: What has the National Union of Writers and Literates offered to the inhabitants of Omdurman?
A: I think it is the duty of the National Union to offer everything it possesses to all people of the Sudan, not only those of Omdurman. Yet the presence of its club in the national capital (Omdurman), makes the Union closely linked to this city to which people swarmed from all parts of the Sudan at the beginning of the Mahdist era, intermarried and melt together, producing this magnificent mixture we presently possess. Omdurman is the melting pot of cultures. Ever since its creation, Omdurman hosted a large number of cultural clubs and prominent literates who have enriched the emotion of the Sudanese people. Therefore, it is logical that the Union takes seat in this city so as to revitalize this tremendous legacy through its symposiums and other activities by rallying the inhabitants of Omdurman, rather all the people of Sudan under the banner of the Union, for raising the cultural awareness through we can bring up a conscious generation that will have a literary taste and can participate in the Sudanese cultural movement.
Socially, the Union pays much concern to the social issues and has always participated effectively in all social functions and activities. I don’t think the cultural and social activities are separate, they rather complement each other.
.jpg)
Q: What is expected of the Union under the current economic difficulties? Do you have any new ideas, particularly with respect to the youths?
A: We are well aware of the importance of money without which things become only dreams; we have many ideas and ambitions with regards to the intellectual and literary activities, but lack of money always aborts our ambitions and we therefore content ourselves with a little amount that is below our ambitions and blocks achievement of the high hopes we dream of for improving the performance, reactivating the ideas and transforming the dreams into reality. We are now looking for new channels of resources to add to our modest personal resources so as to raise the standard of the performance of our Union at least to the level of the Arab unions.
The literary and cultural unions around us have made great strides in advancing their performance as a result of adequate funds offered by their governments and support and investments by private institutions. Unfortunately, we are in a country where culture is not a priority and its support stands at the end of the queue in case that something remains after spending on all other things. This can be noticed in the modest budgets of the ministries of culture in our beloved country (May God make things better).
Q: Could you brief us on your experience in writing songs and your relationship with late signer Nadir Khidir?
A: My experience in this field began as early as my intermediate school days before beginning to write poets in classical Arabic. At that time I cooperated with singer Mohamed Jaafer from Hai Al-Arab quarter of Omdurman who composed and sang more than four of my poems some of which have been recorded in Radio Omdurman since the 1960s when I was a kid. After that, I devoted my full time to school and studying, disconnecting my association with singers, but I still continued writing songs and classical Arabic poems and in 1995 I put in public a song I wrote in the 1970s titled “We will get together” and later composed by my son Hamadto and sung by late Nadir Khidir.
My relationship with late Khidir began in the 1970s when he was a student in Bait Al-Amanah School, a colleague of my brother Farid Hamadto, and became a friend to all members of the family but the singing relationship, as I have earlier mentioned, began in 1995. From that time on, Khidir sang more than 25 poems of mine, some of which I composed by myself and other poems by other composers, including renowned musician Dr. Al-Mahi Suleiman.
Late Khidir had a uniquely fine voice, although some critics say he had an Ethiopian-like tone. Before his untimely death, Khidir presented splendid songs that will last long in the memory of the Sudanese people.
E N D
Photo of the Week
Khartoum (Sudanow) — In just three days, the war in Sudan will complete its third year since it erupted on April 15, 2023. The conflict pits the Sudanese Armed Forces, supported by allied forces, against the rebel militia and its backers at both regional and international levels. Experts believe this war is no longer purely an internal affair; rather, it has evolved into...
More-
13 April, 2026
Stories from the Heart of the Battlefield War and the Growing Suffering of People with Disabilities
Khartoum (Sudanow) — As the war in Sudan enters its fourth year, and destruction has affected everyone, the suffering of people with disabilities has doubled. This vulnerable group faces severe risks due to war, displacement, and the difficulty of accessing medical and humanitarian aid, in addition to the near-total collapse of educational, medical, and rehabilitation services. To understand the scale of suffering and t...
Contact Us
Address: Sudan News Agency (SUNA) Building, Jamhoria Street, Khartoum - Sudan
Mobile:+249 909220011 / +249 912307547