Lectures (Introduction to Arab Poetics) - Softcover

Adonis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0292738609 ISBN 13: 9780292738607

Publisher: University of Texas Press, 1991

Synopsis

Arabic poetry is the quintessennce of Arab culture. In these four essays - delivered as lectures at the College de France in 1984 - one of the foremost Arab poets reinterprets a rich and ancient heritage. He examines the oral tradition of the pre-Islamic poetry of Arabia and the relationship between Arabic poetry and the Quran, and between poetry and thought. In the final essay, he assesses the challenges of modernism and the impact of Western culture on the Arab poetic tradition.

About this title

Review

"The most intellectually stimulating of several Arab books of unique literary distinction in fine translations . . . Translated with uncommon intelligence . . . As important a cultural manifesto as any written today."--Edward Said, "Independent on Sunday""The Arab world's greatest living poet has cultivated a garden of language."--"New York Times"

About the Author

Adonis is widely considered one of the Arab world's greatest living poets. Born in Syria in 1930, he settled in Lebanon in the 1950s where he became a central figure in the new Arabic poetic movement. In 1956 he helped establish the literary magazine Shi'r, and in 1968 founded its successor, the equally prestigious Mawakif. Both were to play a seminal role in the revival of the Arabic literary tradition. Adonis is the author of several classic works that have led to a rigorous reassessment of the Arab cultural heritage.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0292738609
• ISBN 13: 9780292738607
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 108