Arabic Poetry

Since the late 1940s, Arabic poetry has spoken for an Arab conscience, as much as it has debated positions and ideologies, nationally and worldwide. This book tackles issues of modernity and tradition in Arabic poetry as manifested in poetic texts and criticism by poets as participants in transformation and change. It studies the poetic in its complexity, relating to issues of selfhood, individuality, community, religion, ideology, nation, class and gender. Al-Musawi also explores in context issues that have been cursorily noticed or neglected, like Shi’i poetics, Sufism, women’s poetry, and expressions of exilic consciousness. Arabic Poetry employs current literary theory and provides comprehensive coverage of modern and post-modern poetry from the 1950s onwards, making it essential reading for those with interests in Arabic culture and literature and Middle East studies.

This translation of Nizar Kabbani's poetry is accompanied by the striking Arabic texts of the poems, penned by Kabbani especially for this collection. Kabbani was a poet of great simplicity - direct, spontaneous, musical, using the language of everyday life. He was a ceasless campaigner for women's rights, and his verses praise the beauty of the female body, and of love. He was an Arab nationalist, yet he criticized Arab dictators and the lack of freedom in the Arab world.

A bilingual anthology of poems from the sixth century to the present, Arabic Poems is a one-of-a-kind showcase of a fascinating literary tradition. The Arabic poetic legacy is as vast as it is deep, spanning a period of fifteen centuries in regions from Morocco to Iraq. Themes of love, nature, religion, and politics recur in works drawn from the pre-Islamic oral tradition through poems anticipating the recent Arab Spring. Editor Marlé Hammond has selected more than fifty poems reflecting desire and longing of various kinds: for the beloved, for the divine, for the homeland, and for change and renewal. Poets include the legendary pre-Islamic warrior ‘Antara, medieval Andalusian poet Ibn Zaydun, the mystical poet Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya, and the influential Egyptian Romantic Ahmad Zaki Abu Shadi. Here too are literary giants of the past century: Khalil Jibran, author of the best-selling The Prophet; popular Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani; Palestinian feminist Fadwa Tuqan; Mahmoud Darwish, bard of occupation and exile; acclaimed iconoclast Adonis; and more. In their evocations of heroism, nostalgia, mysticism, grief, and passion, the poems gathered here transcend the limitations of time and place.

Abundance from the Desert provides a comprehensive introduction to classical Arabic poetry, one of the richest of poetic traditions. Covering the period roughly of 500-1250 c.e., it features original translations and illuminating discussions of a number of major classical Arabic poems from a variety of genres. The poems are presented chronologically, each situated within a specific historical and literary context. Together, the selected poems suggest the range and depth of classical Arabic poetic expression; read in sequence, they suggest the gradual evolution of a tradition. Moving beyond a mere chronicle, Farrin outlines a new approach to appreciating classical Arabic poetry based on an awareness of concentric symmetry, in which the poem’s unity is viewed not as a linear progression but as an elaborate symmetrical plot. In doing so, the author presents these works in a broader, comparative light, revealing connections with other literatures. The reader is invited to examine these classical Arabic works not as isolated phenomena—notwithstanding their uniqueness and their association with a discrete tradition—but rather as part of a great multicultural heritage. This pioneering book marks an important step forward in the study of Arabic poetry. At the same time, it opens the door to this rich tradition for the general reader.

Cover -- modern arabic poetry -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- CONTENTS -- Acknowledgments -- Note on Translation and Transliteration -- Introduction -- CHAPTER 1 The Politics and Poetics of the Modern Arab World -- CHAPTER 2 From Iltizām to Metapoetry: ʻAbd al-Wahhāb al-Bayātī -- CHAPTER 3 From Iltizām to the Arab Uprising: Aḥmad ʻAbd al-Muʻṭī Ḥijāzī -- CHAPTER 4 From Militant Iltizām to Humanist: Maḥmūd Darwīsh -- Conclusion: The Poets and Their Vocation in the Modern World -- Appendix: Interview with Aḥmad ʻAbd al-Muʻṭī Ḥijāzī -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

ANTHOLOGY OF CLASSICAL ARABIC POETRY(From Pre-Islamic Times to Al-Shushtari)Translations, Introduction and Notes by Paul SmithCONTENTS: Classical Arabic Poetry… page 7, The Qasida… 10, The Qit'a… 11, The Ghazal… 12, The Ruba'i… 16, Selected Bibliography… 17: THE POETS (In Order of Appearance) Imra' ul-Qays 17, Zuhair 29, Harith 39, Antara 46, Tarafa 58, Amru 71, Al-A'sha 80, Suhaym 82, Labid 84, Ka'b 96, Khansa 100, Hazrat Ali 102, Ali Ibn Husain 111, Omar Ibn Abi Rabi'a 106, Majnun (Qays ibn al-Mulawwah) 109, Rab'ia of Basra 116, Bashshar 123, Abu Nuwas 126, Abu Tammam 151, Dhu'l-Nun 155, Bayazid Bistami 163, Al-Nuri 163, Junaid 169, Sumnun 171, Mansur al-Hallaj 173, Ibn 'Ata 181, Shibli 183, Al-Mutanabbi 185, Al-Ma'arri 211, Ibn Sina 233, Al-Ghazali 236, Gilani 239, Abu Madyan 243, Suhrawardi 248, Ibn al-Farid 250, Ibn 'Arabi 265, Al-Busiri 278, Al-Shushtari 284. Pages 287.COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'.“It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished. If he comes to Iran I will kiss the fingertips that wrote such a masterpiece inspired by the Creator of all. ” Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran.“Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith.” Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of many mystical works in English into Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. “Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz.” Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author of his own poems inspired by Hafiz). Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of over 80 books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages… including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Omar Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Mahsati and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and twelve screenplays. www.newhumanitybooksbookheaven.com