Syrian Poets and Vernacular Modernity

This book distinguishes a Syrian style of qaṣīdat nathr (prose poem) as a piece of collaborative performance called shafawiyya, vernacularised poetic speech. The book describes the poetic lineages, stretching from early Syrian independence to the 21st century, whose task it was to bring poetic expression closer to everyday life.

These poets are shown cultivating genres and translational practices rooted in a plebeian civilian identity that counters both heroised images of the prophet-poet a...