Night & Horses & The Desert: An Anthology of Classic Arabic Literature
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
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Night & Horses & The Desert: An Anthology of Classic Arabic Literature
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
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Night & Horses & The Desert: An Anthology of Classic Arabic Literature

Night & Horses & The Desert: An Anthology of Classic Arabic Literature

Night & Horses & The Desert: An Anthology of Classic Arabic Literature

Night & Horses & The Desert: An Anthology of Classic Arabic Literature

eBook

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Overview

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

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781590209141
Publisher: ABRAMS, Inc.
Publication date: 05/23/2023
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 476
File size: 1 MB
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Robert Irwin, the eminent Arabist, is the author of The Arabian Nightmare, Exquisite Corpse, Dangerous Knowledge, Prayer-Cushions of the Flesh, and The Limits of Vision.
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