HUAS95608 - Introduction to Arabic Poetry

Course Description

This short course will give an overview of the development of Arabic poetry from its origins in pre-Islamic Arabia through the classical Golden Age of Arabic court poetry to modern experiments with free verse poetry in the 1950's and modern poetry written in the Arabic dialects, including hip-hop as a form of poetry. The course will pay special attention to works written by women. Students will come away with knowledge of some of the most famous Arabic poets such as Al-Khansa, Rabia Al-Adawiyya, al-Mutannabi, Badr Shakr As-Sayyab, Adunis, Nazik Al-Malaika, Nizar Qabbani and contemporary poets like Maram Al-Masri, Suheir Hammad and the hip-hop artists Tuffar and DAM.