Arabian Romantic: Poems on Bedouin Life and Love
328
Arabian Romantic: Poems on Bedouin Life and Love
328Paperback
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Overview
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.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781479804405 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | New York University Press |
| Publication date: | 10/06/2020 |
| Series: | Library of Arabic Literature , #69 |
| Pages: | 328 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d) |
About the Author
ʿAbdallāh ibn Sbayyil (d. 1352/1933) was a poet from the High Najd region in Central Arabia, in what is now Saudi Arabia.
Annmarie Drury (Foreword by)
Annmarie Drury is Associate Professor in the Department of English at Queens College, CUNY. She is the author of Translation as Transformation in Victorian Poetry and is a translator of Swahili poetry.
Marcel Kurpershoek (Translator)
Marcel Kurpershoek is a specialist in the oral traditions and poetry of Arabia. He is the author of the five-volume Oral Poetry and Narratives from Central Arabia, as well as several books on Middle Eastern history and culture. He served as Netherlands ambassador to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Poland, and as special envoy to Syria until 2015.
Table of Contents
Letter from the General Editor iii
Foreword xii
Introduction xvii
Map: Northern Central Arabia xliii
Note on the Text xliv
Notes to the Introduction xlvii
Arabian Romantic 1
1 God, You saved Job from his predicament 3
2 Why rejoice at their summering near our wells? 4
3 My eyes, where are the loved ones you hold so dear? 6
4 Zed, first you smiled, now you turn away from me 8
5 Come, messenger, fetch your mount 10
6 Moralizers! Do not put my heart to the test! 15
7 Yesterday I was in throes of tears and sobs 17
8 Darling, if I come, mind the enemy 19
9 Lord, people bow in worship to win Your favor 21
10 I beseech You, God, and You alone 23
11 The things of this world can't be gotten by mere tricks 25
12 I supplicate You to smooth my path, God 27
13 I can't blame a soul who abstains from food 29
14.1 Rider who sets out with nine hundred mounts (Fayhan ibn Ziriban) 32
14.2 Rider setting out on a Say'ar camel mount 33
15 If you drink to lift your spirits, connoisseur 38
16.1 Rider of camels at breakneck speed (Fayhan ibn Ziriban) 39
16.2 When clouds roll in, the rain starts with a drizzle 39
17.1 May God whiten the face of Tami ibn Gidran (Mas'ud Al Mas'ud) 41
17.2 Riders of smooth, fast camels 41
18 Almighty God! My heart is pulled from its roots 43
19 Separation tore us apart and left me wistful with desire 45
20 God help me with this flood of tears 47
21 Servant of God, weigh your thoughts with care 49
22 My heart strains like a small herd of camels 51
23 First, the name of God in all of the world's affairs 54
24 Dh'ar, in the full year that has passed today 58
25 I sing these verses, warbling on a high dune 60
26 Poor heart abandoned by its wits 61
27.1 Pity eyelids that do not close at night (Ibn Ziriban) 63
27.2 Camel rider with ten mounts chosen for speed 65
28 A sudden shock upset me, slashed my insides 68
29 My heart is being bent like a bow by a craftsman 70
30 Hey Sin'us, what is this leisurely pace! 72
31 Leave off, you players of love's game, leave oh"! 73
32 May it not rain on late-summer nights 74
33 My heart is wracked like the hearts of rustlers 76
34 My heart strains like camels driven hard by rustlers 78
35 Why, my eye, have you tortured me with love? 79
36 You are privy, God, to the deepest secrets 81
37 I climbed to the lookout, a peak marked by cairns 83
38 Blessed is the blasé heart-one that lacks for nothing 85
39 I groan like a warrior felled by a blade 87
40 As the camel train disappeared over the spur of Abanat 89
41 Hey what's-your-name, give me the stuff that revives me 91
42.1 I moan like a man whose leg is tied with Mishanit straps (Mutawwa' Nifi) 93
42.2 The Mutawwa' is all fakery and tawdry nonsense 93
42.3 I compose my verses to rhyme in ta'(Mutawwa' Nifi) 94
42.4 Mutawwa', may your deepest secret be exposed 94
42.5 What now, little fat-assed 'Abdallah (Mutawwa' Nifi) 94
42.6 Dghelib offered a price for Mutawwa's mortar (Mutawwa' Nifi) 94
42.7 Riders on camels, gray from grueling marches 95
42.8 When my mood is blue I call for Nurah (Mutawwa' Nifi) 95
42.9 Mutawwa'! What's all this sound and fury? 95
42.10 Hey crowing cock! You're all bluff and bluster (Mutawwa' Nifi) 95
42.11 I swear to God, we owe it to the door (Mutawwa' Nifi) 96
42.12 Too late! Why did one of us not get up 96
42.13 What a wonderful rain cloud, at the Lord's command (Mutawwa' Nifi) 96
42.14 Those flashes of lightning have set the sky ablaze 96
43.1 Hey, Ibn Sbayyil, things are out of kilter (Smer of the 'Utaybah tribe) 97
43.2 Smer, I will provide no comfort for your ranting 97
44 What joy, this message that quickened my eye (Mini' al-Gi'ud al-Sani') 99
45.1 May illness not touch you, full-bosomed beauty (Rbayyi' al-Abd) 100
45.2 Why does this dumb blacksmith, out of his depth 100
46.1 Pay the protection money, bleary-eyed villager (Ibn Tha'li) 101
46.2 I'll chuck you a bone, you mangy mutt 101
Notes 102
Glossary 199
Bibliography 213
Index 223
About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute 254
About the Translator 255
The Library of Arabic Literature 256