"Music of a Distant Drum" marks a literary milestone. It
collects 129 poems from the four leading literary traditions of the
Middle East, all masterfully translated into English by Bernard
Lewis, many for the first time. These poems come from diverse
languages and traditions--Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Hebrew--and
span more than a thousand years. Together they provide a
fascinating and unusual window into Middle Eastern history. Lewis,
one of the world's greatest authorities on the region's culture and
history, reveals verses of startling beauty, ranging from panegyric
and satire to religious poetry and lyrics about wine, women, and
love.
Bernard Lewis, one of the world's greatest authorities on the
region's culture and history, offers a work of startling beauty
that leaves no doubt as to why such poets were courted by kings in
their day. Like those in the "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam," the poems
here--as ensured by Lewis's mastery of all the source languages and
his impeccable style and taste--come fully alive in English. They
are surprising and sensuous, disarmingly witty and frank. They
provide a fascinating and unusual glimpse into Middle Eastern
history. Above all, they are a pleasure to read.They range from
panegyric and satire to religious poetry and lyrics about wine,
women, and love. Lewis begins with an introduction on the place of
poets and poetry in Middle Eastern history and concludes with
biographical notes on all the poets.
This treasure trove of verse is aptly summed up by a quote from
the ninth-century Arab author Ibn Qutayba: "Poetry is the mine of
knowledge of the Arabs, the book of their wisdom, the muster roll
of their history, the repository of their great days, the rampart
protecting their heritage, the trench defending their glories, the
truthful witness on the day of dispute, the final proof at the time
of argument."
In one hand the Qur'vn, in the other a wineglass,
Sometimes keeping the rules, sometimes breaking them.
Here we are in this world, unripe and raw,
Not outright heathens, not quite Muslims.
--"Mujir" (12th century)
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