Desert Tracings : Six Classic Arabian Odes by 'Alqama,

Desert Tracings : Six Classic Arabian Odes by 'Alqama, Shanfara, Labid, 'Antara, Al-A'sha, and Dhu al-Rumma
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According to legend, the Bedouin tribes of pre-Islamic Arabia held poetry competitions during annual fairs near Mecca. The wining poems called Muâ€™allaqÃ¡t, or Hanging Odes, were embroidered in gold on banners and suspended from the walls of Arabiaâ€™s most sacred shrine, Kaâ€™ba. Desert Tracings is a translation of six classical sixth to eighth century odes. Arabic codes (qasidas) traditionally begin with the relationship of the lover to the loved. Usually set at opening in the belovedâ€™s abandoned desert campsite, where the only evidence that remains is tent marks and torrent beds in the sand â€“ â€œnaked tracings,/ worn thin, like inscriptions/ carved in flat stonesâ€ â€“ the qasida moves gracefully through the thematic parts, the loverâ€™s grief, the quest, and the final acceptance of a world deprived of the beloved. Like the oryx-doe trapped within the unyielding cycles of the desert world.

As Michael Sells writes in his introduction, the qasidahas been overshadowed in the West by other Arabic literature, such as The Arabian Nights, but the qasidais are the primary literary tradition in both pre-Islamic and Islamic Arabia. The remarkable richness of language and range of mood captured in theses translations help explain their enduring fascination.
Country USA
Brand Wesleyan University Press
Manufacturer Wesleyan University Press
Binding Paperback
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780819511584
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Country	USA
Brand	Wesleyan University Press
Manufacturer	Wesleyan University Press
Binding	Paperback
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780819511584
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

Desert Tracings : Six Classic Arabian Odes by 'Alqama, Shanfara, Labid, 'Antara, Al-A'sha, and Dhu al-Rumma

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