Night & Horses & The Desert: An Anthology of Classic Arabic Literature
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- Synopsis
- This collection of Arabic literature is “a joy to read. . . . a journey through eleven centuries of a lost world, with a surprise on almost every page” (Financial Times). Spanning the fifth to the sixteenth centuries, from Afghanistan to Spain, Night & Horses & The Desert includes translated extracts from all the major classics in an invaluable introduction to the subject of classical Arabic literature. Robert Irwin has selected a wide range of poetry and prose in translation, from the most important and typical texts to the very obscure. Alongside the extracts, Irwin’s copious commentary and notes provide an explanatory history of the subject. What were the various genres and to what extent were they constrained by rules? What were the canons of traditional Arabic literary criticism? How were Arabic prose and poetry recited and written down? Irwin explores the literary environments of the desert, salon, mosque, and bookshop and provides brief biographies of the caliphs, princesses, warriors, scribes, dandies, and mystics who created such a rich and diverse literary culture. Night & Horses & The Desert gives western readers a unique taste of the sheer vitality and depth of the medieval Arab past.“Superb . . . . a revelation.” —The Washington Post“[A] treasure-house of a book. . . . Unequaled for scholarship and entertainment.” —The Independent
- Copyright:
- 1999
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Publisher Quality
- Book Size:
- 480 Pages
- ISBN-13:
- 9781590209141
- Related ISBNs:
- 9781468313123
- Publisher:
- ABRAMS, Inc.
- Date of Addition:
- 02/19/25
- Copyrighted By:
- Robert Irwin
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- History, Literature and Fiction, Language Arts
- Submitted By:
- Bookshare Staff
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.
- Edited by:
- Robert Irwin