We’re really excited to bring to our listeners a season of programming fresh for 2021. Former guest, Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, will be giving us a tour of classical Arabic poetry starting with ʿImr al-Qays (d.544CE) and his muʿallaqaḧ ode considered a high point of literary achievement. Despite its ancient origins, its themes of love, loss and friendships retains a freshness even for modern ears.
Here is what to expect:
1. ʾImr al-Qays (501-544 CE): an introduction to the Muʿallaqāt and pre-Islamic Jāhilī poetry [19]
2. al-Farazdaq (c.641-c.730 CE) and his rivals: an introduction to Umayyad poetry [20]
3. Abū Nuwās (c.756- c.814 CE): Life, works and legacy of a hedonist [21]
4. Abū al-ʿAtāhiyyaħ (748-828 CE): Life, works and legacy of an ascetic poet [22]
5. Abū Tammām (c.807-850 CE): Life, works and legacy of an anthologist [23]
6. al-Ḥallāj (c.858-922 CE): Life, works and poetic legacy of a martyred mystic [24]
7. al-Mutanabī (c.915-965 CE): ‘the Shakespeare of the Arabs’ [25]
8. Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī (932–968 CE): the prison poetry of a prince [26]
9. Ibn Zaydūnī (1003-1071 CE): an introduction to Andalusian poetry [27]
10. Ibn ʿArabī (1165-1240 CE): Life, works and poetic legacy of a Sufi [28]
11. Ṣafī al-Dīn al-Ḥillī (1278-1349 CE): Life, works and legacy [29]
12. Legacy of classical Arabic poetry: a retrospect of the series with Dr. Kevin Blankinship [30]
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