Arabian Romantic: Poems on Bedouin Life and Love

by Abdallah ibn Sbayyil, Marcel Kurpershoek (Translation)

Love poems from late nineteenth-century Arabia

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 (ca. 1853–1933), a town dweller from the Najd region of the Arabian Peninsula, was a key figure in the Nabati 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.

A bilingual Arabic-English edition.

Genres: Poetry

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 9, 2018

Reviews

[* · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone deeply immersed in romantic poetry, particularly that originating from the desert, I found his verses beautifully written and profoundly expressive. Longing, distance, and the vision of the beloved were central themes that inspired his writings, their beauty resonating through the intricacies of his words. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

[Lulu]

Late 19th Ibn Sbayyil (ca. 1853–1933) https://www.libraryofarabicliterature...