We speak with Dr. Kevin Blankinship of Brigham Young University about this edgy figure. Blind since childhood, poet Abū al-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī, was a vegan and anti-natalist who agitated contemporaries with his seemingly heretical views. Dr. Blankinship challenges what we think we know about this gadfly. He ends with an original translation of one of al-Maʿarrī’s Luzūmiyāt poems. Find more of Dr. Blankinship’s work here: byu.academia.edu/KevinBlankinship
This was great fun during our Covid-19 self-isolation conducted over Google Hangout. I’ve experimented with different platforms for remote podcasting viz. Zencastr, Cleanfeed, Skype (😖), Zoom but Google Hangout I’ve found to be the clearest and easiest for all parties to use. It would be good to hear your views.
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