Abu nuwas was a person who loved to drink and say obscene things, such that he would even make up verses of poetry and sing about inappropriate things. A translation of two classical arabic poets pdf swarthmore. Abu nuwas, father of curls, so named for his long flowing hair that hung down to his shoulders, was the greatest arab poet of his time, or as some claim, the greatest arab poet of all time. Abu nuwas was sexually interested in women or girls only when they looked like boys. At first, abu nuwas refused to contest because he knew that all this is the guile of abu jahil who want to oust him from the palace. His education as a youth took place in basra and kufa. When i started reading the tales of abu nuwas by marva dasef i was immediatly charmed by the sweet, innocent character of setara. As hakim bey points out in a legendary life of abu nuwas, the scholarly biographical essay that occupies the second half of this volume, abu nuwas made the transition from slave to streetboy to poet, playing the. Biographies differ on the date of abu nuwas birth, ranging from 747 to 762.
Abunuwas alhasan ben hani alhakami 750810, nai to abunuwas, ek arbii bhasa ke kavi rahaa. His father belonged to the army of marwan ii, the last umayyad, while his mother was of persian descent. Abunuwas alhasan ben hani alhakami 750810, o abunuwas, usa nga maniriday nga arabo. To deny abu nuwass position in the realms of islamic literature is, perhaps, then, unfair. Uu the book of one thousand and one nights likhis rahaa. May 01, 2005 this rather short introduction 8 pages, to abu nuwas poetry gives a general idea of his work, with a scholarly critical approach. Profiles of notable literary works and the historic events that influenced them. One of the most famous arabic language poets in history was a man named abu nuwas. To the north are the craters tsai wenchi and rodin. Abu nuwas haes an aa entered the folkloric tradeetion.
When abu nuwas was young, his good looks and charisma attracted the attention of the persian poet, abu usama waliba ibn alhubab alasadi d. Through a discussion of my translations and a comparison to previous interpretations, i propose not just a revision of these two particular poems, but a general method of translating classical arabic poetry for common, literary use. Abu nuwas article about abu nuwas by the free dictionary. Abu nuwas poems, quotations and biography on abu nuwas poet page. Poet of wine, desire, the hunt, and the abbasid empire. Iblis in the poems of abu nuwas request pdf researchgate. Abu nuwas was born in ahwaz on the karun river in western persia.
Abu nuwas, of mixed arab and persian heritage, studied in basra and alkufah, first under the poet walibah ibn al. Aada hiya ha an basahon nga usa ka yukot ngan usa ka mga gabi. However, he underwent a change and repented to god. Abu nuwas biography, birth date, birth place and pictures. Abu nuwas abu nuwas 756758 8815 ce was a leading arabic poet who transformed arabic poetry about wine, love, the obscene. In addition to his literary talent, he was particularly know for the rowdy content of his writings. To deny abu nuwas s position in the realms of islamic literature is, perhaps, then, unfair. If anyone should be interested in expanding their horizons, i could supply the names of some authors who have been translated.
I abunuwas alhasan ben hani alhakami 756814, a a kilala murin king lagyung abunuwas. Abu nuwas and his friend, and fellow poet, the caliph haroun alrashid, might have tried to do the right thing, but they would scarcely be classified as religious poets. He would praise the joys of getting drunk, describe in vivid detail his desire for women and men and all in all. Abu nuwas haes an aa entered the folkloric tradeetion, an he appears several times in the beuk o ane thoosand an ane nichts. O allah if my sins become abundantthen indeed i know your forgiveness is greater than my sins. Yet there is also a modern and uptodate feel about his poetry that makes it ideal for presentation to an englishspeaking readership, some twelve centuries after his death. This is the first book to present the life, times and poetry of one of the greatest poets in the arab tradition, abu nuwas. Abu nawas, the nickname of their author, lived in baghdad, iraq, during the reign of harun al rashid 763809 and was considered the most accomplished arab poet of his age.
Through a discussion of my translations and a comparison to previous. Abu nuwas was one of the most important poets of 8thcentury islamic world. Abu nuwas died in prison and when the people came to take away his body, they found a scrap of paper with this poem written on it. Una caricatura lluxuriosa dabu nuwas apaez en delles ocasiones en les mil y una nueches. The new caliph, abdullah almamun, was a patron of the arts and sciences as well, but no great friend of drinkers and lovers. Abu nuwas father, hani, whom the poet never knew, was an arab, a descendant of the jizani tribe banu hakam, and a soldier in the army of marwan ii. Thus, abu nuwas was called to appear before, and after facing king harun alrashid, abu nuwas was given lengthy instructions. If anyone should be interested in expanding their horizons, i could supply the names of. His persian mother, named jullaban, worked as a weaver. Read all poems of abu nuwas and infos about abu nuwas. They knew that this poet was just faking a repentance until he was released.
Tales of abunuwas and other stories are translations of hadithi za abunuwasi na hadithi nyingine, from swahili into english by john lewisbarned and retold here by his daughter suzi lewisbarned. Abu nuwas project baghdad, iraq planned and designed 1981 photo of model courtesy of the erickson estate collection for thumbnails. Kennedy admits, yes, there are elements in arab culture that. The diwan of abu nuwasthe litrary work the collected poems of abu nuwas set in iraq in the late eighth century c.
Request pdf on jan 1, 2001, g schoeler and others published iblis in the poems of abu nuwas find, read and cite all the research you need on. Mdzreader band diwan des abu nuwas, des grossten lyrischen. Abu nuwas ke ke baap ek arbii rahaa jon ki marwan ii ke army me ek sipahi rahaa. He would praise the joys of getting drunk, describe in vivid detail his desire for women and men and all in all, lead an. He studied in basra under the mentorship of the poets abu usama waliba ibn alhubab alasad and khalaf alahmar, and spent his adult life in baghdad. High in favor with the caliphs harun arrashid and amin, he lived a courtiers life. Abu nuwas simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Aada hiya ha an basahon nga usa ka yukot ngan usa ka mga gabi pinanbasaran. Waliba was a tall handsome and blond blueeyed man, known for his charming attractive appearance, he became a lover to his pupil, walibah was enamored by abu nuwas. Abu nuwas was the pen name of hasin ibn hani al hakami, born of persian parents around the middle of the eighth century in ahwaz. His style was extravagant, and his compositions reflect mahmud darwish, darwish, mahmoud mahmoud darwish poet editor few poets in modern history have meant as much to their people as palestinian poet mahmoud darwish.
The problem is, theres not a lot to choose from if youre looking for abu nuwas translations. Setara is a girl on the verge of womanhood, itching to escape the clutches of her overprotective father and explore the world beyond the walls of her home. In addition to his literary talent, he was particularly known for the rowdy content of his writings. But there is more than the great rochester in abu nuwas. Synopsis source for information on the diwan of abu nuwas.
The two poets i have translated here, abu nuwas and almutanabbi, are. Author philip kennedy provides the narrative of abu nuwas s fascinating life, which was full of intrigue and debauched adventure, in parallel with the presentation of his greatest poems, across all genres, in easy and. Whilst the abunuwasi tales are available in english translations from the arabic originals, these translations into english from an early swahili edition add a. What emerges is a likeable, if rather louche, character with an outrageous sense of humour, sharp wit, unaccompanied by malice, and considerable. Born in the ceety o ahvaz in modrenday iran, tae an arab faither an a persie mither, he acame a master o aw the contemporary genres o arabic poetry. It contains useful explanations the author likes sometimes to use instead, the word exegesis, to the complex world of. Born in the city of ahvaz in modernday iran, to an arab. I provide here a translation of two poems by two classical arabic poets.
Abunuwas or aboe noewas alhasan ben hani alhakami c. His full name was abu nuwas alhasan ibn hani alhakami. In his khamriyyat, abu nuwas offers a glimpse of the hedonistic and dissipated world he inhabited. Abu nuwas poetry is characterised by an astonishing lack of inhibition and one of the most attractive features of his diwan is the extent to which his verse reveals its authors personality. Oct 16, 2012 abu nuwas however outlived caliph alamin as well, who lost his life in a war over the succession waged by his brother only four years after ascending to the throne.
Abu nuwas is credited as poet, anthology of islamic literature from the rise of islam to modern times 1966, abu nuwas in life and legend. The last poem of abu nuwas poem by abu nuwas poem hunter. You can download the paper by clicking the button above. His style was extravagant and his compositions reflected the licentious manners of the upper classes of his day. But forcing the king and abu nuwas can not refused. It contains useful explanations the author likes sometimes to use instead, the word exegesis, to the complex world of arabic poetry and culture of the eighth century. Abunawas hassanlbnhaunikhuzestani 750 8 was an early arabic language poet, probably born at ahwaz in persia. Jab abu nuwas chhota rahaa tab uske ek basra ke dukandaar ke bech dewa gais rahaa. His first teacher was the poet waliba ibn alhubab died 786, a master who. Abu nuwas alhasan ibn hani alhakami was born in alahwaz. Abu nawas hassanlbnhaunikhuzestani 750 8 was an early arabic language poet, probably born at ahwaz in persia. Nov 08, 2015 knowing abu nuwas and his character, people dismissed his repentance as merely for show and a ploy to gain his freedom. For those who cannot read the poems in the original arabic, a translation is the only. In fact, most scholars believe that abu nuwas wrote most of his poems during the reign of alamin 8098.
Part 1 forbidden poems of abu nawas free download as pdf file. Abu nuwas project baghdad, iraq planned and designed 1981 photo of model courtesy of the erickson estate collection for thumbnails and project information click in photo. His style was extravagant, and his compositions reflected well the licentious manners of the upper classes of his day. Abu nuwas abu ali alhasan ibn hani alhakami was born around 760 in southwestern persia, now a borderland between iran and iraq. His style was extravagant, and his compositions reflected well the licentious. Im reading philip kennedys work on abu nuwas now, which embeds fragments of translations in a scholarly analysis, after which ill have ideas of where else to look for this lively poet.
His tales spread far and wide in the arab countries around the mediterranean sea but also in turkey, uzbekistan and beyond. In arabian nights stories he usually is the companion of caliph harun arrashid 766809. Riding the shecamel into the desert swarthmore college. This rather short introduction 8 pages, to abu nuwas poetry gives a general idea of his work, with a scholarly critical approach. It is named after the arab poet abu nuwas, and its name was approved by the international astronomical union in 1976. Mibait ya king lakanbalen o ciudad ning ahvaz king persia, king tatang a arabu ampong imang persian, megi yang. Abunuwas alhasan ben hani alhakami 750810, or abunuwas, was a classical arabic poet. Reading widely through his poetry one might come to sense that genius shows itself in amazingly similar ways in different cultures. There is small central peak in the center of the floor of abu nuwas. Author philip kennedy provides the narrative of abu nuwass fascinating life, which was full of intrigue and debauched adventure, in parallel with the presentation of his greatest poems, across all genres, in easy and accessible translations, giving commentary where needed.
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