Advanced Search Request a Book

ORDERS

Readings Orders 0

DEMANDS

Readings Demands 0

Arabian Satire: Poetry From 18th-Century Najd
[Paperback - 2020]
hmedan al-shweir
Out of Stock
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: $15
Our Price: Rs.2695 Rs.2425
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.270
Category: Literature
Sub-category: Poetry
Publisher: New York University Press | ISBN: 9781479885169 | Pages: 160
Shipping Weight: .360 | Dimensions: null
Notify

Description

Satirical verse on society and its hypocrisies

A master of satire known for his ribald humor, self-deprecation, and invective verse (hija ), the poet Hmedan al-Shwe ir was an acerbic critic of his society and its morals. Living in the Najd region of the Arabian Peninsula, Hmedan wrote in an idiom widely referred to as "Nabati," here a mix of Najdi vernacular and archaic vocabulary and images dating to the origins of Arabic poetry. In Arabian Satire, Hmedan is mostly concerned with worldly matters and addresses these in different guises: as the patriarch at the helm of the family boat and its unruly crew; as a picaresque anti-hero who revels in taking potshots at the established order, its hypocrisy, and its failings; as a peasant who labors over his palm trees, often to no avail and with no guarantee of success; and as a poet recording in verse how he thinks things ought to be.

The poems in Arabian Satire reveal a plucky, headstrong, yet intensely socially committed figure-representative of the traditional Najdi ethos-who infuses his verse with proverbs, maxims, and words of wisdom expressed plainly and conversationally. Hmedan is widely quoted by historians of the Gulf region and in anthologies of popular sayings. This is the first full translation of this remarkable poet.

An English-only edition.

About the Author

Hmedan al-Shwe ir was an early eighteenth-century poet from the region of Najd in the Arabian Peninsula, in what is now Saudi Arabia.

Bestsellers in Literature

View All
Milk And Honey
[Paperback - 2015]
rupi kaur
In Stock
List Price: £14.99
Our Price: Rs.3345 Rs.3010
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.335
Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass
[Hardback - 2020]
lana del rey
In Stock
List Price: £16.99
Our Price: Rs.4245 Rs.3820
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.425
Only Dull People Are Brilliant At Breakfast: Little Black Classics 119
[Paperback - 2016]
oscar wilde
Out of Stock
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: £3
Our Price: Rs.645 Rs.580
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.65
Conversations On Love
[Paperback - 2022]
natasha lunn
Out of Stock
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: £10.99
Our Price: Rs.2395 Rs.2155
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.240
Healing Through Words
[Hardback - 2022]
rupi kaur
In Stock
List Price: £16.99
Our Price: Rs.5045 Rs.4540
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.505
The Night Is Darkening Round Me: Little Black Classics 63
[Paperback - 2015]
emily bronte
Out of Stock
Availability in 2-4 weeks on receipt of order
List Price: £3
Our Price: Rs.545 Rs.490
Standard Discount: 10%
You Save: Rs.55