Arabian Romantic: Poems on Bedouin Life and Love Contributor(s): Sbayyil, ʿabdallāh Ibn (Author), Kurpershoek, Marcel (Translator), Drury, Annmarie (Foreword by) |
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ISBN: 1479804401 ISBN-13: 9781479804405 Publisher: New York University Press OUR PRICE: $13.50 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: October 2020 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Poetry | Middle Eastern - Literary Collections | Middle Eastern - Literary Criticism | African |
Dewey: 892.716 |
LCCN: 2020016669 |
Physical Information: 1.1" H x 5.5" W x 8.2" (0.90 lbs) 328 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Scenes from Arabian life at the turn of the twentieth century Arabian Romantic captures what it was like to live in central Arabia before the imposition of austere norms by the Wahhabi authorities in the early twentieth century: tales of robbery and hot pursuit; perilous desert crossings; scenes of exhaustion and chaos when water is raised from deep wells under harsh conditions; the distress of wounded and worn-out animals on the brink of perdition; once proud warriors who are at the mercy of their enemy on the field of battle. Such images lend poignancy to the suffering of the poet's love-stricken heart, while also painting a vivid portrait of typical Bedouin life. Ibn Sbayyil, a town dweller from the Najd region of the Arabian Peninsula, was a key figure in the Nabaṭī poetic tradition. His poetry, which is still recited today, broke with the artifice of the preceding generation by combining inherited idiom and original touches reflecting his environment. Translated into English for the first time by Marcel Kurpershoek, Arabian Romantic will delight readers with a poetry that is direct, fluent, and expressive, and that has entertained Arabic speakers for over a century. An English-only edition. |