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Tag Archives: Arabic-English
How Translating Helps Me Learn: Ibn al-Rūmī, Verse 1
For me, a learning translation (which may lead later to an “artistic” one) starts with inserting English phraseology that tracks the Arabic as closely as possible. This creates a “trot” that mirrors the source’s structures. The goal is to understand … Continue reading
The Heron and the Hoopoe
Never a bird had fairer scientific name than Upupa epops, the jaunty hoopoe, for which the Arabic is hudhud. “Heron” is balaSHUN. I experience this delicate lyric written in Arabic as all signal with no noise. If it alludes to … Continue reading
‘2013-8-15’
This is the second of 3 poems by Zakaria Mohammed published in the September 2023 edition of Poetry magazine. They date from 2013. (I noted the first one here). English translations by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha are in the Poetry issue … Continue reading
Zakaria Mohammed’s Poem ‘2013-1-2’
The September edition of Poetry magazine publishes 3 poems by Palestinian poet Zakaria Mohammed. English translations by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha accompany the Arabic texts. She publishes a translator’s note as well. The poet’s death on August 2, 2023, is noted … Continue reading
The Poem of ^Umar ibn Abī Rabī^a
^Umar ibn Abī Rabī^a, son of a wealthy merchant of Mecca, lived ca. 643-719 A.D. His legend is that of a womanizer, his verses said to be “the greatest crime ever committed against God.” 1 If only Hind would keep … Continue reading
The Poem of al-Khansā’
Al-Khansā’, born near the end of the 6th century A.D., is renowned for elegies she composed for her slain brothers Mu^āwiya and Saẖr. Line 5, midway through the poem, is notable for the brusque transition to aggrieved resignation leading into … Continue reading
The Poem of ‘^Antara’ (6th Century A.D.)
The text I use is from A.J. Arberry, Arabic Poetry: A Primer for Students (Cambridge University Press, 1965). Arberry says the poem is likely not by ^Antara, but is in the spirit of “one of the greatest hero-poets of the … Continue reading
The Poem of an-Nābiḡa (Died ca. A.D. 604)
In this complicated, ancient poem* I glimpse the life of squalid intrigue and dependency that was ever the courtier’s lot. At the mercy of the tyrant’s whim and the plots of competitors, his is a routine of flattery, complaint and … Continue reading
Mona Kareem’s ‘Nights’: Stanzas 5-7 (End)
This post is continued from here. Poetry, May 2023 publishes the Arabic text of Mona Kareem’s poem Lailayāt (“Nights”) along with a translation into English by Sara Elkamel. My translation follows below. 5Born between a tree’s two hands, a croneproffers … Continue reading
Mona Kareem’s ‘Nights’: Stanzas 3-4
This post is continued from here. Poetry, May 2023 publishes the Arabic text of Mona Kareem’s poem Lailayāt (“Nights”) along with a translation into English by Sara Elkamel. I can’t vary in any interesting way Sara Elkamel’s excellent, close translation … Continue reading