The Arabic Prose Poem

Huda J. Fakhreddine explores the 'new genre' of the Arabic prose poem as a poetic practice and a critical lens. Fakhreddine examines the history of the prose poem, its claims of autonomy and distance from its socio-political context, and the anxiety and scandal it generated.

"The journal Shi'r (1957-70) was a professional avant-garde monthly journal founded in Beirut and became a centre of various types of cultural practice. Over the course of time, the activities of the group that were linked to the journal were consolidated in what was called 'the Shi'r movement'." "Most of the writers who investigate and evaluate the practices and contributions of Shi'r define the prose poem as central to Shi'r's aspiration for cultural change, yet Arab critics who explore the works of the Shi'r group tend to treat the work of each writer as an individual accomplishment and the journal as simply a meeting venue and a medium for conducting individual experiments and pursuing personal careers." "Basing its analysis on the major writings about Shi'r and the prose poem in Arabic and English, the book seeks to demonstrate that these conventional methods of viewing the Shi'r project still breed misconceptions about the group and their writings and still affect adversely the studies of the Arabic prose poem. Taking as its basis recent groundbreaking writings on modern cultural and literary studies in general, and on studies of the prose poem in particular, the book attempts to search for a new perspective to redefine the place of "Shi'r" Arabic prose poem."--BOOK JACKET.

"The purpose of this book is to trace the development of the differing forms employed in various liteary movements in modern Arabic poetry. This development seems to me the most important elemment in the understanding of the contemporary revolution in Arabic poetry. Moreover, this revolution is considered to be the first in the history of Arabic poetry in which the influence of foreign literature has been such that it las almost completely cut off modervn Arabic poetry from its classical heritage." from Introduction.

After centuries of oppressive Ottoman rule, the Arab world began to find new vitality and freedom in the twentieth century. The accompanying resurgence of creative expression is splendidly reflected in this definitive anthology of contemporary Arabic poetry, which spans the modern Arab world from the turn of the century to the present, from the Arab Gulf to Morocco. The editor, Salma Khadra Jayyusi, a renowned expert on modern Arabic literature, presents a through introduction to the works of more than ninety Arab poets. To create the best possible English translation, each selection has been translated first by a bilingual expert and then by an English-language poet, who creatively renders it into idiomatic English.

Adonis's poetry and prose writings have aroused much controversy in the Arab world, both for their provocative content and their arresting style. Grounded in traditional poetic styles, Adonis developed a new way of expressing modern sentiments. Although influenced by classical poets, Adonis started at a relatively early age to experiment with the prose poem, giving it density, tension, metaphors, and rhythm. He also broke with the diction and style of traditional poems, introducing a new and powerful syntax and new imagery. Through his innovative use of language, imagery, and narrative technique, Adonis has played a leading role in the revolutionizing of Arabic literature. He has garnered many of the world’s major poetry prizes. In A Time Between Ashes and Roses Adonis evokes the wisdom of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, liberally excerpting from and remolding its images; the modernism of William Carlos Williams; and the haunting urban imagery of poets such as Baudelaire, Cavafy, and Lorca. Three long poems allow him to explore profoundly the human condition, by examining language and love, race and favor, faith and dogma, war and ruin. In the lyrical “This Is My Name” and “Introduction to the History of the Petty Kings,” Adonis ponders Arab defeat and defeatism. In “A Grave for New York,” he reflects on the same theme by interrogating Vietnam-era America. This bilingual edition, presenting the poems in Arabic and English on facing pages, is enhanced by a critical bibliography of Adonis’s works, providing an accessible and crucial reference for scholars of modern and Middle Eastern poetry and culture. Shawkat M. Toorawa’s vivid and eloquent translation finally makes the poet’s signature work available to an English-speaking audience; the effect is no less powerful than were the first translations of Pablo Neruda into English.