Arabian Romantic: Poems on Bedouin Life and Love
Robert W. Lebling
‘Abdallāh ibn Sbayyil. Trans. Marcel Kurpershoek.
NYU Press, 2020.
Ibn Sbayyil is a key figure in the tradition of Nabati poetry, rooted in classical Arabian culture shared by both Bedouin and the settled tribes of Central Najd, in the heart of today’s Saudi Arabia. A settler himself with close links to Bedouins, Ibn Sbayyil composed poetry at the turn of the 20th century that captured the flavor and emotions of Arabia’s nomadic population. His vibrant writings, capturing his own longing for Bedouin life, are still recited in Saudi Arabia today. As headman of the small Najdi town of Nifi, he encountered and befriended Bedouin tribesmen who spent part of each year in his village and departed with their camels and sheep with the arrival of rains, in search of greener lands. Skillfully translated, these poems are steeped in desert nostalgia. The work includes Ibn Sbayyil’s poetic responses to competing poets of his day as well as a rich selection of explanatory notes by the translator.
You may also be interested in...
Author Aminata Sow Fall’s Empire of Illusion—Our Book Review
What do we owe each other? What do we owe ourselves? These are the questions that Senegalese author Aminata Sow Fall has posed for nearly half a century.
The Vanishing Sea by Artist Dinara Mirtalipova—Our Book Review
How often do we take nature for granted, assuming it will never vanish? In US-based folk illustrator Dinara Mirtalipova’s new children’s book, a sea is the main character: the one that provides livelihood and prosperity, until humans’ poor choices cause its demise.