Nov 6, 2021
Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works
and legacy of al-Mutanabbī, whose poetry continues to inspire.
Timestamps
01:44 Al-Mutanabbī was born in 915CE in the city Kufah in modern
day Iraq at the height of the Abbasid caliphate but with rising
challenges from sectarian foes. What do we know about his
socio-political context?
05:34 Al-Mutanabbī was educated in Damascus and is said to have participated in Qaramatian revolts which we covered in episode 13 with Dr. Andani. What do we know about al-Mutanabbī’s life and what is the origin of his name?
19:22 Al-Mutanabbī is particularly known as being the court poet of Sayf al-Dawlaḧ, ruler of Aleppo. How would you characterise his works?
22:15 In February 2021, NASA tweeted some lines by al-Mutanabbī to congratulate the UAE satellite reaching Mars. Al-Mutanabbī’s reputation has now reached across the stars. That would have been very appealing to his reputed big head. How do we assess his legacy?
30:18 Finally, let's end with a sample and translation.
This is the seventh part of a twelve part series exploring
classical Arabic poetry which can be utilised in college-level
teaching programmes.
For more on our guest, see kblankinship.com.
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