The Book
This is the first book to present the life, times and poetry of one of the greatest poets in the Arab tradition, Abu Nuwas. Author Philip Kennedy provides the narrative of Abu Nuwas's fascinating life, which was full of intrigue and debauched adventure, in parallel with the presentation of his greatest poems, across all genres, in easy and accessible translations, giving commentary where needed.
Preface
Acknowledgments
1 "DANGLING LOCKS AND BABEL EYES” - A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ABU NUWAS (c. 757-814)
Background and origins
Education
Love for Janan
The Move to Baghdad
The "Modern” Poet
Sexuality
Character and Temperament
Prison
Sojourn in Egypt
Death and Afterlife
2 "LOVE, WINE, SODOMY ... AND THE LASH” - THE LYRIC POETRY OF ABU NUWAS
Erotic Poetry
Two Traditions of Love Poetry - A Sketch
A Digest of Idealized Love
Inching towards Frivolity and Lust
The Psychology of Master and Servant
Turning the Tables
Pandering (to) Satan
Fear of Women and Other Anxieties
Seduction and Rape
Writing (and) Letters
Christian Boys
Wine Poetry
Beloved Wine
Failed Cross-Wooing and an Orgy
Two Views of Time
"Whose are the Remnants...?”
Trumping the Theologian
Dialogue with a Jewish Taverner
Numinous Wine
Jonah Comes Out of the Whale
3 "THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY” - ON PANEGYRIC AND SATIRE
The Panegyric
A. Formal and Sober
B. Less Formal and Less Sober
C. Occasional and Miscellaneous Eulogy
"Pens Dipped in Bitter Gall” - Satire
Bread and Bereavement
The Politics of State and al-Amin
Spite and Sacrilege
Tasteless Ja‘far the Barmecide
The Alchemist and Phony Genealogies
Isma‘il ibn Abi Sahl
The Stolen Member
Quack Philosopher of Egypt
Onanist Job
A Prison Consultation
Servants and Singing Girls
Fatal Provocation?
4 SOME HUNTING POEMS AND A GAME OF POLO
A Saluki Hound
The Cheetah
Elegy for a Hound
The Polo Match
5 "POETRY FOR MORTALS AND THE DEAD” - ON THE ASCETIC POEM AND THE ELEGY
The Ascetic Poem
A Righteous Dowry
Man's Mortal Genealogy
The Danger of Empty Talk
Eloquent Simplicity
Sound and Meaning
The Permanent Ink of the Angels
The Elegy
For Harun al-Rashid (d. 809)
For Muhammad ibn Zubayda "al-Amin” (d. 813)
For the Barmecides
Fragment for His Son
For Waliba ibn al-Hubab
For a Sick Friend
For Himself
An Afterword - "Walk the Even Path with Me ...”
Bibliography
Index
CONTENTS
Preface
Acknowledgments
1 "DANGLING LOCKS AND BABEL EYES” - A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ABU NUWAS (c. 757-814)
Background and origins
Education
Love for Janan
The Move to Baghdad
The "Modern” Poet
Sexuality
Character and Temperament
Prison
Sojourn in Egypt
Death and Afterlife
2 "LOVE, WINE, SODOMY ... AND THE LASH” - THE LYRIC POETRY OF ABU NUWAS
Erotic Poetry
Two Traditions of Love Poetry - A Sketch
A Digest of Idealized Love
Inching towards Frivolity and Lust
The Psychology of Master and Servant
Turning the Tables
Pandering (to) Satan
Fear of Women and Other Anxieties
Seduction and Rape
Writing (and) Letters
Christian Boys
Wine Poetry
Beloved Wine
Failed Cross-Wooing and an Orgy
Two Views of Time
"Whose are the Remnants...?”
Trumping the Theologian
Dialogue with a Jewish Taverner
Numinous Wine
Jonah Comes Out of the Whale
3 "THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY” - ON PANEGYRIC AND SATIRE
The Panegyric
A. Formal and Sober
B. Less Formal and Less Sober
C. Occasional and Miscellaneous Eulogy
"Pens Dipped in Bitter Gall” - Satire
Bread and Bereavement
The Politics of State and al-Amin
Spite and Sacrilege
Tasteless Ja‘far the Barmecide
The Alchemist and Phony Genealogies
Isma‘il ibn Abi Sahl
The Stolen Member
Quack Philosopher of Egypt
Onanist Job
A Prison Consultation
Servants and Singing Girls
Fatal Provocation?
4 SOME HUNTING POEMS AND A GAME OF POLO
A Saluki Hound
The Cheetah
Elegy for a Hound
The Polo Match
5 "POETRY FOR MORTALS AND THE DEAD” - ON THE ASCETIC POEM AND THE ELEGY
The Ascetic Poem
A Righteous Dowry
Man's Mortal Genealogy
The Danger of Empty Talk
Eloquent Simplicity
Sound and Meaning
The Permanent Ink of the Angels
The Elegy
For Harun al-Rashid (d. 809)
For Muhammad ibn Zubayda "al-Amin” (d. 813)
For the Barmecides
Fragment for His Son
For Waliba ibn al-Hubab
For a Sick Friend
For Himself
An Afterword - "Walk the Even Path with Me ...”
Bibliography
Index
Additional Information
| Subject | Religion: Islam |
|---|---|
| Series | Makers of the Muslim World |
| Pages | 160 |
| Imprint | Oneworld Academic |
Reviews
Geert Jan van Gelder - Laudian Professor of Arabic, Oxford University"Philip has written a very good book on the great (in my view) greatest Arabic poet, Abu Nuwas... The literary analysis is generally excellent, balanced and erudite."
