On Entering the Sea: The Erotic and Other Poetry of Nizar Qabbani (Poetry Series) [Hardcover]

Nizar Qabbani (Author), Lena Jayyusi (Author, Translator), Sharif Elmusa (Translator), Jack Collum (Translator), Diana Der Hovanessian (Translator), W. S. Merwin (Translator), Christopher Middleton (Translator), Naomi Shihab Nye (Translator), Jeremy Reed (Translator), John Heath-Stubbs (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1998 | Series: Poetry Series

In this collection of poems by one of the Ar ab world''s greatest love poets, the author pays homage to th e grace and beauty of women and takes on those who dare to i mpose taboos on women and love. '

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This volume presents a generous selection of the work of an important poet in Arabic to the English-speaking world. It is very curious, then, that it should be oddly arranged (not by date or collection but by translator) and rather misleadingly introduced. Promotion copy and introduction all loudly proclaim Qabbani a supreme poet of love and beauty, yet to believe this is probably to misunderstand him altogether. Love is mentioned everywhere, indeed, but the poet who can say of the love-object "more beautiful still/ is the imprint of her feet/ across our papers," or "I love you that I remain bound/ to God, to the land, to history, to time" is not writing love poetry. His subject is the collision of the Arab outlook with modern culture, and his antique images of love?fountains and does and black hair?clash intriguingly with the clocks and visas and tape-recorders of modernity. Qabbani's poems of exile and elegy ("Um Al-Mu'taz," "A Lesson in Drawing") are especially deeply felt, and he is a poet of subtle intelligence. For most poetry or world literature collections.?Graham Christian, Andover-Harvard Theological Lib., Cambridge, Mass.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Qabbani, reputed to be the most popular poet in the Arab world, is certainly one of the greatest love poets of all time, as he follows the noble path of Kahlil Gibran. Although wonderfully prolific and internationally renowned, Damascus-born Qabbani has been all but unavailable in English translations in the U.S. This beautiful collection rectifies that situation. The volume's introduction asserts that Qabbani is a heroic champion of women's rights who, by equating beauty and eroticism with liberty and justice, and celebrating women in all their strength and glory, challenges in his poetry his culture's cruel repression of women. In his classically passionate poems, poems as bright as flowers and as caressing as a pool of water, Qabbani declares that to be female is to be holy. This is a sweet message for any woman, but especially for Arabian women, who are viewed as the property of their male relatives. Whether he's writing of love or war, Qabbani achieves a mythic dimension. Donna Seaman

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Interlink Pub Group Inc (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566561868
• ISBN-13: 978-1566561860
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,366,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest love poets that ever lived, May 19, 2002

By 

Scott Woods (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On Entering the Sea: The Erotic and Other Poetry of Nizar Qabbani (Poetry Series) (Hardcover)

Don't let the fact that his words have been translated from their original Arabic dissuade you from believing that somehow the work isn't as honest as it should be. Qabbani's work is so powerful it hardly matter shwat language it is in. In short, easily read dollops of wit measured out with a voice of quiet urging, he has given us work that transcends time and politics, while being above-it-all.

"If you know a man
who loves you more than I
guide me to him
so I may first congratulate
hom on his constancy
and later, kill him."

If poetry ever had a Luther Vandross, it was Pablo Neruda. If it ever had a Barry White, it was Qabbani.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: On Entering the Sea: The Erotic and Other Poetry of Nizar Qabbani (Poetry Series) (Hardcover)

I "found" Qabbani almost by accident and am so glad that I did. His writing style is one that translates beautifully into English. His mix of Middle Eastern and western sentiments makes him a stylish writer with a power and influence in both cultures. I would highly recommend this book.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars wonderful, September 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: On Entering the Sea: The Erotic and Other Poetry of Nizar Qabbani (Poetry Series) (Paperback)

I'm not a big poetry buff but Qabbani just grabbed me. He's an amazing poet who spills his heart throughout this book.