War Songs
Kay Hardy Campbell
`Antarah ibn Shaddad. James E. Montgomery with Richard Sieburth, tr. Peter Cole, fwd.
2018, New York UP, 978-1-47985-8-798, $14 pb.
Najd-born `Antarah ibn Shaddad, (525–608 CE) is considered one of the greatest pre-Islamic Arabian poets. His verses glorified battle and his love for Ablah, a noblewoman he could never marry because he was a slave and the son of a slave. Four hundred years after his death, storytellers embellished `Antarah’s exploits and his love for Ablah in new epic poems inspired by the original verses. This book features translations of `Antarah’s poems and selections from the later epic verses. Presented in modern form, the translations are as clear and unexpected as `Antarah’s original verse. The volume’s comprehensive introduction to the life, poetry and lore of `Antarah, along with scholarly accounts of him and his and works, provide an insightful portrayal of an enduring literary legend.
You may also be interested in...
Celebrate Women's History Month With These Reads on Women Throughout History
To help honor Women’s History Month, AramcoWorld brings you a list of 10 female-focused reads that celebrate women throughout history.
Work Reveals Common Ground Across Massive Desert
The Sahara wasn’t always a desert. Around 9000 BCE it was a bucolic expanse where animals and lush vegetation thrived.
Noorjahan Bose: A Life of Learning
Taking inspiration from her now-deceased mother, Noorjahan Bose, a daughter of the Agunmukha, Bangladesh, now shifts her energy toward empowering other daughters.