Badr bin Abdul Mohsen Al Saud

Badr bin Abdul Mohsen Al Saud (بدر بن عبد المحسن آل سعود; 2 April 1949 – 4 May 2024) was a Saudi prince, Arabic poet and painter. He was a son of Prince Abdul Muhsin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and nephew of all Saudi kings since 1953. He is known in the Arab world for his five poetry collections, where he combined both traditional and modernist styles of Arabic poetry.

Biography
Al-Badr, as he was called, started writing poetry at the age of 16. Author of five poetry collections, he drew inspiration from two different styles of Arabic poetry, vernacular Nabati Bedouin tradition and modernist Arabic poetry. Further, he was known for his innovations of contemporary Arabic poetry. Some of his sentimental and romantic verses became also known as lyrics for Arabic songs. Among other public events, his works were performed in 2018 at the Jenadriyah festival. In 2023, he performed at a poetry evening at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture and opened his first art exhibition in Saudi Arabia entitled "Masterpieces of Al-Badr". According to literary scholar Mouneera Al-Ghadeer, his "spiritual and humanist tone" resembles that of Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran.

In 2019, King Salman bin Abdulaziz awarded him the King Abdulaziz Medal. Badr Bin Abdulmohsin died on 4 May 2024 at the age of 75. His death was mourned in numerous tributes and obituaries in TV programmes and newspapers of the Gulf region and across the Arab world.

Awards and recognition

 * King Abdulaziz Medal, 2019
 * UNESCO World Poetry Day, 2019
 * Personality of the Year, Kuwait, 2023

Works
All Arabic original titles given in English translation:


 * What the Sparrow Engraves on the Date (1989)
 * A Letter from a Bedouin (1990)
 * A Painting, Perhaps a Poem (1996)
 * The Nectar of Letters (2022)
 * The Peaks of Clouds (2022)