Modern Arabic Poetry: Revolution and Conflict

325 Pages·2017·2.78 MB·English

by  Waed Athamneh

modern arabic poetry

modern
arabic
poetry
Revolution and Conflict
WAED ATHAMNEH
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana
Published by the University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
www.undpress.nd.edu
Copyright © 2017 by the University of Notre Dame
All Rights Reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Athamneh, Waed author.
Title: Modern Arabic poetry : revolution and conflict / Waed Athamneh.
Description: Notre Dame, Indiana : University of Notre Dame Press, 2017. |
Includes bibliographical references and index. | Description based on print
version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016053418(print) | LCCN 2016056333(ebook) |
ISBN 9780268101565 (pdf) | ISBN 9780268101541 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
ISBN 026810154X (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Political poetry, Arabic — History and criticism. | Arabic poetry —
20th century — History and criticism. | Arabic poetry — 21st century —
History and criticism. | Politics in literature.
Classification: LCC PJ7542.P64 (print) | LCC PJ7542.P64 A84 2017 (ebook) |
DDC 892.7/1609 — dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016056333
ISBN 9780268101565
∞This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).
This e-Book was converted from the original source file by a third-party vendor.
Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability issues are encouraged to
contact the publisher at [email protected].
To the most loving and inspiring parents in the world,
Nasser and Aida,
To my husband, friend, and colleague,
and the everlasting love of my life, Muhammad,
To my son and the light of my eyes, Ghassan,
To al-Bayātī, Ḥijāzī, and Darwīsh,
To all the lovers and readers of poetry,
I dedicate this book.

C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments ix
Note on Translation and Transliteration xi
Introduction 1
CHAPTER 1 The Politics and Poetics of the Modern Arab World 7
CHAPTER 2 From Iltizām to Metapoetry:
ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Bayātī 31
CHAPTER 3 From Iltizām to the Arab Uprising:
Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Muʿṭī Ḥijāzī 111
CHAPTER 4 From Militant Iltizām to Humanist:
Maḥmūd Darwīsh 189
Conclusion: The Poets and Their Vocation
in the Modern World 259
Appendix: Interview with Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Muʿṭī Ḥijāzī 271
Notes 275
Bibliography 291
Index 299

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
I am overwhelmed by the generosity of my family, friends, and mentors
who have contributed to this book in any and every way. I would like to
express my unmatched gratitude to my mentors and friends Suzanne
Stetkevych and Jaroslav Stetkevych for their meticulous feedback and
invaluable support and inspiration throughout the past nine years.
At the University of Notre Dame Press, I have been privileged to
work with the publication team: Rebecca DeBoer, the managing editor,
and the acquisitions editor, Stephen Little, for whose significant support
and feedback I am thankful, and Kellie M. Hultgren for her conscientious
copy editing and preparation of the final manuscript for publication.
I would also like to thank Susanna J. Sturgis for her meticulous work in
preparing the manuscript for submission and the peer reviewers for their
insight and wisdom. I am grateful to Connecticut College for their gener-
ous financial support, such as Research Matters awards, R. F. Johnson
awards, and the sabbatical leave in 2014–2015, without which I would
not have been able to prepare the final version of my book.
I would like to thank my family, especially my father, Nasser Atham-
neh, and my mother, Aida Ajlouni, for their love, inspiration, and un-
matchable support throughout the years, and for being great parents for
me and my siblings: Deema, Husam, Liqa, Muhammad, Seif, and Dea.
It would not be complete without dearly thanking my late grand father
Hajj Ibrahim al-Ajlouni for instilling the love for humanity and litera-
ture in me.
I would like to finally thank my husband, Muhammad, and my joy-
ful baby, Ghassan, for their tremendous love, forbearance, and support.
Ghassan was born while I was editing the book in Jordan, and he was so
ix