Al Merbed is the name of the annual Poetry Festival in Basrah, in the south of Iraq. This year, from April 2nd till 4th 2004, was the first time after the fall of Saddam and brought together Iraqi poets, writers and other artists from all parts of Iraq and from the diaspora. Until last year Saddam exploited this well known festival for his own political purposes, but this time it was free: a celebration of liberation, a meeting of old friends a first attempt to deal with past pains and articulate a future for free artistic expression and contributing to enlightenment and development of Iraqi society at large.