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Modern Arab Poets, 1950-1975
English, Arabic (translation)
- GenresPoetry
148 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 11, 2025
A collection of poems from poets across the Arab world all originally published between 1950-1975. Representing different authors from Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Sudan, and Palestine this collection looks to showcase what the newest voices of these nations have to offer on a global scale. While some poems are better than others I found this collection as a whole to be a great resource and record of the literary world of Arab society in the mid 20th century.
While a contemporary overview of what Arab poetry had to offer at the time, this offers more of a historic retrospective reading 50 years later. So many of the nations represented here exist within a completely different context in today’s world, most apparent being places like Syria and Iraq but that is not to say that any of these nations and people have stayed stagnant in their societal overview in the last half century.
This collection offers an interesting look into these Arab societies at a very interesting time period. Many of these nations had recently entered a period of independence and nationalism is definitely a common theme in these poems. These societies also were modernizing and the advancements of technology or social issues are apparent. Still there are often poems that deal with more traditional elements of faith or folklore. It really is an interesting slice of Arab consciousness from a generation’s most brilliant minds. In terms of writing these poems are more traditional than I tend to read but elements of free verse are utilized as well.
When it came to the authors included here I was only previously familiar with Mahmoud Darwish. This was a great introduction to these authors and this collection is one of the few places where some of these authors have been translated to English, making this collection even more special.
This collection was edited and translated by Issa J Boullata, a Palestinian from Jerusalem. He crafts a great sampling with these poems, including biographies for each author included. These biographies really help build a better understanding of this generation of authors and only enhance the poems themselves.
There were a handful of personal favorites from this collection but the clear standout for me were from Nizar Qabbani. The Syrian author is highly regarded in his home nation and the Arab world as a whole but little of his work has been translated to english. His simplistic, slice of life, poetic style appeals to my personal preferences but his poems also offer much more. Often highly political and grander in scope than their initial presentation. Many of his poems have been written from the perspective of women in a way that comes across as unique and genuine. It’s clear to say his work stood out far beyond the rest of the collection for me and I will be reading more from him.
While a contemporary overview of what Arab poetry had to offer at the time, this offers more of a historic retrospective reading 50 years later. So many of the nations represented here exist within a completely different context in today’s world, most apparent being places like Syria and Iraq but that is not to say that any of these nations and people have stayed stagnant in their societal overview in the last half century.
This collection offers an interesting look into these Arab societies at a very interesting time period. Many of these nations had recently entered a period of independence and nationalism is definitely a common theme in these poems. These societies also were modernizing and the advancements of technology or social issues are apparent. Still there are often poems that deal with more traditional elements of faith or folklore. It really is an interesting slice of Arab consciousness from a generation’s most brilliant minds. In terms of writing these poems are more traditional than I tend to read but elements of free verse are utilized as well.
When it came to the authors included here I was only previously familiar with Mahmoud Darwish. This was a great introduction to these authors and this collection is one of the few places where some of these authors have been translated to English, making this collection even more special.
This collection was edited and translated by Issa J Boullata, a Palestinian from Jerusalem. He crafts a great sampling with these poems, including biographies for each author included. These biographies really help build a better understanding of this generation of authors and only enhance the poems themselves.
There were a handful of personal favorites from this collection but the clear standout for me were from Nizar Qabbani. The Syrian author is highly regarded in his home nation and the Arab world as a whole but little of his work has been translated to english. His simplistic, slice of life, poetic style appeals to my personal preferences but his poems also offer much more. Often highly political and grander in scope than their initial presentation. Many of his poems have been written from the perspective of women in a way that comes across as unique and genuine. It’s clear to say his work stood out far beyond the rest of the collection for me and I will be reading more from him.
Displaying 1 of 1 review