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賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷
兀亘賵 賲丨賲丿 丕賱賯丕爻賲 亘賳 毓賱賷 亘賳 賲丨賲丿 丕亘賳 毓孬賲丕賳 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 丕賱亘氐乇賷 (446賴賭/1054賲 - 6 乇噩亘 516 賴賭/11 爻亘鬲賲亘乇 1122賲) 賰丕賳 賲賵賱丿賴 亘亘賱丿 賯乇賷亘 賲賳 丕賱亘氐乇丞 賷賯丕賱 賱賴丕 " 丕賱賲鬲丕賳 " 賵賰丕賳 睾丕賷丞 賮賷 丕賱匕賰丕亍 賵丕賱賮胤賳丞 賵丕賱賮氐丕丨丞 賵丕賱亘賱丕睾丞.
賵鬲氐丕賳賷賮賴 鬲卮賴丿 亘賮囟賱賴 賵鬲賯乇 亘賳亘賱賴
氐丕丨亘 賴匕賴 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 賵賴賷 賲卮賴賵乇丞 兀亘夭 亘賴丕 毓賱賶 丕賱丕賵丕卅賱 賵兀毓噩夭 丕賱丕賵丕禺乇.
賯丕賱 丕賱亘賳丿噩賷賴賶: 賵賰丕賳 爻亘亘 賵囟毓賴丕 兀賳 兀亘丕 夭賷丿 丕賱爻乇賵噩賶 賵乇丿 丕賱亘氐乇丞 賵賰丕賳 卮賷禺丕 卮丨丕丿丕 亘賱賷睾丕 賮氐賷丨丕.
賮賵賯賮 賮賷 賲爻噩丿 亘賳賷 丨乇丕賲 賮爻賱賲 孬賲 爻兀賱 丕賱賳丕爻 賵丕賱賲爻噩丿 睾丕氐 亘丕賱賮囟賱丕亍.
賮兀毓噩亘賴賲 賮氐丕丨鬲賴 賵丨爻賳 氐賷睾丞 賰賱丕賲賴.
賵匕賰乇 兀爻乇 丕賱乇賵賲 賵賱丿賴 賰賲丕 匕賰乇 賮賷 丕賱賲賯丕賲丞 丕賱丨乇丕賲賷丞.
賯丕賱 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 賮丕噩鬲賲毓 毓賳丿賷 毓卮賷丞 匕賱賰 丕賱賷賵賲 賮囟賱丕亍 丕賱亘氐乇丞 賮丨賰賷鬲 賱賴賲 賲丕 卮丕賴丿鬲 賲賳 匕賱賰 丕賱爻丕卅賱 賮丨賰賶 賰賱 賵丕丨丿 賲賳賴賲 兀賳賴 爻賲毓 賲賳 賴匕丕 丕賱爻丕卅賱 賮賷 賲爻噩丿賴 賮賷 賲毓賳賶 丌禺乇 賮囟賱丕 賲賲丕 爻賲毓鬲.
賵賰丕賳 賷睾賷乇 賮賷 賰賱 賲爻噩丿 夭賷賴 賵卮賰賱賴 賮鬲毓噩亘賵丕 賲賳賴.
賮兀賳卮兀鬲 丕賱賲賯丕賲丞 丕賱丨乇丕賲賷丞 孬賲 亘賳賷鬲 毓賱賷賴丕 爻丕卅乇 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賴.
賵賯賷賱 兀賳賴 氐賳賮賴丕 賱賱賵夭賷乇 噩賱丕賱 丕賱丿賷賳 毓賱賷 亘賳 兀亘賷 丕賱毓夭 毓賱賷 亘賳 氐丿賯丞 賵夭賷乇 丕賱賲爻鬲乇卮丿.
賵賱賱夭賲禺卮乇賷 賮賷 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲: 兀賯爻賲 亘丕賱賱賴 賵丌賷丕鬲賴 * 賵賲卮毓乇 丕賱丨噩 賵賲賷賯丕鬲賴 丕賳 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 丨乇賷 * 亘兀賳 鬲賰鬲亘 亘丕賱鬲亘乇 賲賯丕賲丕鬲賴 賷丨賰賷 兀賳 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 賰丕賳 睾賳賷丕 賱賴 孬賲丕賳賷丞 毓卮乇 兀賱賮 賳禺賱丞 賵賯賷賱 兀賳賴 賰丕賳 賯匕乇丕 賮賷 賳賮爻賴 賵卮賰賱賴 賵賱亘爻賴 賯氐賷乇丕 匕賲賷賲丕 亘禺賷賱丕 賲賵賱毓丕 亘賳鬲賮 匕賯賳賴.
賵丨賰賷 亘毓囟 兀賴賱 丕賱丕丿亘 兀賳 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 賱賲丕 賯丿賲 亘睾丿丕丿 賵賰丕賳 丕賱賳丕爻 賷賴賳賮賵賳 亘賮囟丕卅賱賴 賵賷鬲胤賱毓賵賳 廿賱賶 賱賯丕卅賴 賮丨囟乇 廿賱賷賴 丕亘賳 丨賰賷賳丕 丕賱賲毓乇賵賮 亘丕賱亘乇睾賵孬 丕賱卮丕毓乇 賮賱賲 賷噩丿賴 毓賱賶 賲丕 賰丕賳 賮賷 馗賳賴 賮賳馗賲 兀亘賷丕鬲丕: 卮賷禺 賱賳丕 賲賳 乇亘賷毓丞 丕賱賮乇爻 賷賳鬲賮 毓孬賳賵賳賴 賲賳 丕賱賴賵爻 兀賳胤賯賴 丕賱賱賴 亘丕賱賲卮丕賳 賵賯丿 丕賱噩賲賴 賮賷 丕賱毓乇丕賯 亘丕賱禺乇爻.
賵鬲氐丕賳賷賮賴 鬲卮賴丿 亘賮囟賱賴 賵鬲賯乇 亘賳亘賱賴
氐丕丨亘 賴匕賴 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 賵賴賷 賲卮賴賵乇丞 兀亘夭 亘賴丕 毓賱賶 丕賱丕賵丕卅賱 賵兀毓噩夭 丕賱丕賵丕禺乇.
賯丕賱 丕賱亘賳丿噩賷賴賶: 賵賰丕賳 爻亘亘 賵囟毓賴丕 兀賳 兀亘丕 夭賷丿 丕賱爻乇賵噩賶 賵乇丿 丕賱亘氐乇丞 賵賰丕賳 卮賷禺丕 卮丨丕丿丕 亘賱賷睾丕 賮氐賷丨丕.
賮賵賯賮 賮賷 賲爻噩丿 亘賳賷 丨乇丕賲 賮爻賱賲 孬賲 爻兀賱 丕賱賳丕爻 賵丕賱賲爻噩丿 睾丕氐 亘丕賱賮囟賱丕亍.
賮兀毓噩亘賴賲 賮氐丕丨鬲賴 賵丨爻賳 氐賷睾丞 賰賱丕賲賴.
賵匕賰乇 兀爻乇 丕賱乇賵賲 賵賱丿賴 賰賲丕 匕賰乇 賮賷 丕賱賲賯丕賲丞 丕賱丨乇丕賲賷丞.
賯丕賱 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 賮丕噩鬲賲毓 毓賳丿賷 毓卮賷丞 匕賱賰 丕賱賷賵賲 賮囟賱丕亍 丕賱亘氐乇丞 賮丨賰賷鬲 賱賴賲 賲丕 卮丕賴丿鬲 賲賳 匕賱賰 丕賱爻丕卅賱 賮丨賰賶 賰賱 賵丕丨丿 賲賳賴賲 兀賳賴 爻賲毓 賲賳 賴匕丕 丕賱爻丕卅賱 賮賷 賲爻噩丿賴 賮賷 賲毓賳賶 丌禺乇 賮囟賱丕 賲賲丕 爻賲毓鬲.
賵賰丕賳 賷睾賷乇 賮賷 賰賱 賲爻噩丿 夭賷賴 賵卮賰賱賴 賮鬲毓噩亘賵丕 賲賳賴.
賮兀賳卮兀鬲 丕賱賲賯丕賲丞 丕賱丨乇丕賲賷丞 孬賲 亘賳賷鬲 毓賱賷賴丕 爻丕卅乇 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賴.
賵賯賷賱 兀賳賴 氐賳賮賴丕 賱賱賵夭賷乇 噩賱丕賱 丕賱丿賷賳 毓賱賷 亘賳 兀亘賷 丕賱毓夭 毓賱賷 亘賳 氐丿賯丞 賵夭賷乇 丕賱賲爻鬲乇卮丿.
賵賱賱夭賲禺卮乇賷 賮賷 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲: 兀賯爻賲 亘丕賱賱賴 賵丌賷丕鬲賴 * 賵賲卮毓乇 丕賱丨噩 賵賲賷賯丕鬲賴 丕賳 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 丨乇賷 * 亘兀賳 鬲賰鬲亘 亘丕賱鬲亘乇 賲賯丕賲丕鬲賴 賷丨賰賷 兀賳 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 賰丕賳 睾賳賷丕 賱賴 孬賲丕賳賷丞 毓卮乇 兀賱賮 賳禺賱丞 賵賯賷賱 兀賳賴 賰丕賳 賯匕乇丕 賮賷 賳賮爻賴 賵卮賰賱賴 賵賱亘爻賴 賯氐賷乇丕 匕賲賷賲丕 亘禺賷賱丕 賲賵賱毓丕 亘賳鬲賮 匕賯賳賴.
賵丨賰賷 亘毓囟 兀賴賱 丕賱丕丿亘 兀賳 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 賱賲丕 賯丿賲 亘睾丿丕丿 賵賰丕賳 丕賱賳丕爻 賷賴賳賮賵賳 亘賮囟丕卅賱賴 賵賷鬲胤賱毓賵賳 廿賱賶 賱賯丕卅賴 賮丨囟乇 廿賱賷賴 丕亘賳 丨賰賷賳丕 丕賱賲毓乇賵賮 亘丕賱亘乇睾賵孬 丕賱卮丕毓乇 賮賱賲 賷噩丿賴 毓賱賶 賲丕 賰丕賳 賮賷 馗賳賴 賮賳馗賲 兀亘賷丕鬲丕: 卮賷禺 賱賳丕 賲賳 乇亘賷毓丞 丕賱賮乇爻 賷賳鬲賮 毓孬賳賵賳賴 賲賳 丕賱賴賵爻 兀賳胤賯賴 丕賱賱賴 亘丕賱賲卮丕賳 賵賯丿 丕賱噩賲賴 賮賷 丕賱毓乇丕賯 亘丕賱禺乇爻.
178 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1122
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
January 25, 2018
亘毓丿 賰賱 賲賯丕賲丞 賷夭丿丕丿 丨亘賷 賵賷夭賷丿 睾亘賳賷 .. 賷夭丿丕丿 丨亘賷 賱賱睾丞 丕賱毓乇亘賷丞 賵賷夭賷丿 睾亘賳賷 賱兀賳賳賷 兀卮毓乇 亘丕賱亘毓丿 毓賳賴丕 賵亘鬲賵丕囟毓 賲爻鬲賵丕賷 賮賷賴丕.
賴匕丕 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 鬲丨賮丞 賵賲賳 兀賱匕 賲丕 賯乇兀鬲 廿賱賶 丨丿 丕賱丌賳.
賴匕丕 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 鬲丨賮丞 賵賲賳 兀賱匕 賲丕 賯乇兀鬲 廿賱賶 丨丿 丕賱丌賳.
August 31, 2020
First, we must agree that the Impostures cannot be translated. It just can't. At first, I would read an imposture and then listen to a reading of the Maqamat Al- Hariri in Arabic on YouTube. I soon gave that up. If you picked up the Impostures to get a sense of the Maqamat, there is a good chance that you will be sorely disappointed. However, do not give up on this text. Read it for what it is, and what it is is an erudite translation of the untranslatable! Cooperson takes each of the fifty impostures, and translates it in its own style, in a manner that he finds fitting with the context of that particular imposture. It is very cleverly done. Some chapters are laugh out loud funny.
Check out #Impostures #AlHariri2020 on Twitter for the illustrations and city information that go with each imposture.
Check out #Impostures #AlHariri2020 on Twitter for the illustrations and city information that go with each imposture.
April 6, 2024
An incredible attempt to translate the untranslatable. Funny, diverse, and wielding an awe inspiring grasp of language, the English counterpart of the 50 Impostures is a must read for linguists, poets, or anyone with an appreciate for words. Stylish and carefully crafted, these classic Arabic literature adventures highlight cunning, deception, and the pursuit of a better life with unforgettable characters and passages that delight as much as they engage the reader. It is worth the work of diving into the research and personal interpretation behind each chapter, and a stellar performance of blending original texts with a translator鈥檚 unique touch.
July 2, 2022
兀賯爻賲 亘丕賱賱賴 賵丌賷丕鬲賴 ... 賵賲卮毓乇 丕賱丨噩 賵賲賷賯丕鬲賴
廿賳 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 丨乇賷 亘兀賳 ... 賳賰鬲亘 亘丕賱鬲亘乇 賲賯丕賲丕鬲賴
丕賱夭賲禺卮乇賷
廿賳 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 丨乇賷 亘兀賳 ... 賳賰鬲亘 亘丕賱鬲亘乇 賲賯丕賲丕鬲賴
丕賱夭賲禺卮乇賷
October 16, 2020
Also known as the Maqamat of Al-Hiriri.
This is on Philip Ward's list of 500 lifetime books . It consists of fifty episodes in which the narrator Harith Hamman comes across the trickster Abu Zayd in various cities in the Middle East. They are friends, but in Al-Hariri's day (1054-1122, Western calendar) you couldn't text to meet up somewhere. You might just happen on an old acquaintance in a mosque or town square, or out in the desert. And since Abu Zayd is usually disguised in rags to justify his wheedling for alms or conning someone out of a camel, Harith doesn't always recognize him right away. The name 'Zayd' means 'any man whatever' and the name Harith Hamman means 'one who acquires gain by trade or other means' and 'one who is subject to cares and anxieties.'
However, the Assemblies is much more than the tales of a scamp in the vein of Hodja Nasreddin. It is a tour-de-force (by repute; I don't know Arabic) of Arabic philology in the form of lectures, sermons full of admonitions to live according to religious and traditional precepts, riddles, and other beautifully worded addresses. Scholars used to memorize it. Many of the rewards (again by repute) lay in catching the nuances of Arabic words with multiple meanings. Other rewards are said to lie in the perfection of the rhetorical devices and poetry. At first I found the typical elaborate language distancing, but by the end I had finally gotten into the beauty of it. I think that this is the first time has happened for me with something translated from traditional Arabic.
The humor lies in the contrast between the pious show-off rhetoric of Abu Zaid and his every-present scheming to earn the sympathy and respect of his audience so he can scam them. Even his friend Harith is not exempt from being fleeced. I was attracted by book summaries that cited the humor of the writing, but I would say that you will smile, not laugh at Abu-Zaid's tricks.
At any rate, it isn't simple reading. I recommend setting aside a few weeks for this, and only reading one or two of the fifty episodes at one time. It would get too repetitive otherwise. I read the translation by Amina Shah. She was British, of eminent Afghani origin, the sister of Sufi writers Idras Shah and Omar Ali-Shah. Her nieces and nephews are writers and filmmakers. She anthologized folktales, which she gathered by traveling all over the world, as well as translating this work. I enjoyed it, but there are few notes to help understand it. The exception is the assemblies that cite multiple riddles, where the philology of the double meanings is explained.
There is an older translation as well, by Thomas Chenery and Francis Joseph Steingass. I think that it might not have been a complete translation.
Comparison:
from the 27th Assembly:
Shah:
Chenery:
Other resources: online access to a very old Arabic manuscript of the work, with wonderful color illustrations, in a French library:
By the by, I read this simultaneously with Lizardi's , published in his native Mexico in 1830. Both describe the escapades of devious tricksters and cheats who reform in the end. Both revel in an elaborate style. Both do combine moral advice with plenty of vice. But Al-Hariri uses the most complex and respected rhetoric, while Lizardi reportedly used a wide variety of registers and semi-dialects to reflect the different stations of his characters. And Lizardi, following Cervantes and other picaresque authors, gets his protagonist involved in much worse behavior than Abu Zayd.
This is on Philip Ward's list of 500 lifetime books . It consists of fifty episodes in which the narrator Harith Hamman comes across the trickster Abu Zayd in various cities in the Middle East. They are friends, but in Al-Hariri's day (1054-1122, Western calendar) you couldn't text to meet up somewhere. You might just happen on an old acquaintance in a mosque or town square, or out in the desert. And since Abu Zayd is usually disguised in rags to justify his wheedling for alms or conning someone out of a camel, Harith doesn't always recognize him right away. The name 'Zayd' means 'any man whatever' and the name Harith Hamman means 'one who acquires gain by trade or other means' and 'one who is subject to cares and anxieties.'
However, the Assemblies is much more than the tales of a scamp in the vein of Hodja Nasreddin. It is a tour-de-force (by repute; I don't know Arabic) of Arabic philology in the form of lectures, sermons full of admonitions to live according to religious and traditional precepts, riddles, and other beautifully worded addresses. Scholars used to memorize it. Many of the rewards (again by repute) lay in catching the nuances of Arabic words with multiple meanings. Other rewards are said to lie in the perfection of the rhetorical devices and poetry. At first I found the typical elaborate language distancing, but by the end I had finally gotten into the beauty of it. I think that this is the first time has happened for me with something translated from traditional Arabic.
The humor lies in the contrast between the pious show-off rhetoric of Abu Zaid and his every-present scheming to earn the sympathy and respect of his audience so he can scam them. Even his friend Harith is not exempt from being fleeced. I was attracted by book summaries that cited the humor of the writing, but I would say that you will smile, not laugh at Abu-Zaid's tricks.
At any rate, it isn't simple reading. I recommend setting aside a few weeks for this, and only reading one or two of the fifty episodes at one time. It would get too repetitive otherwise. I read the translation by Amina Shah. She was British, of eminent Afghani origin, the sister of Sufi writers Idras Shah and Omar Ali-Shah. Her nieces and nephews are writers and filmmakers. She anthologized folktales, which she gathered by traveling all over the world, as well as translating this work. I enjoyed it, but there are few notes to help understand it. The exception is the assemblies that cite multiple riddles, where the philology of the double meanings is explained.
There is an older translation as well, by Thomas Chenery and Francis Joseph Steingass. I think that it might not have been a complete translation.
Comparison:
from the 27th Assembly:
Shah:
In my early days, I had always wanted to join the people of the hair-tents, the Bedouin, and learn their ways, their language and their peace, so that I might take after their high-mettled spirits.
So I bestirred myself with the alertness of one not lacking in industry, and began to roam through lowlands and highlands, until I got together a string of camels and a flock of goats. Then I took myself to some Arabs far away from the towns, fit to be the lieutenants of kings. No care lighted upon me when I was with them, no arrow struck, until one night there strayed away one of my she acmes, profuse of milk flow. So I sprang upon a swift-paced steed, and fared forth. All night, in the full moon's light, I scoured the desert, every copse and treeless place, until the morning call to prayer came to my heart's here. Then I got from my saddle, and said my prayers, after which I rode again, trying my poor mount to his utmost.
Chenery:
In the prime of my life that has fleeted, I had a leaning towards intercourse with the people of the hair-tents, so that I might take after their high-mettled spirits and their Arab tongues.So I bestirred myself with the alertness of one not lacking in industry, and began to roam through low-lands and high-lands, until I had got together a string of those that groan [{.&, camels],
along with a flock of those that bleat [ie. 9 sheep]. Then I betook myself to some Arabs, [fit to be] lieutenants of kings, sons of speech [saws]. They gave me a home with them in safest vicinity, and turned [blunted] from me the edge of any [hostile] tooth. No care alighted upon me while I was with them, no arrow struck [the smoothness] of my rock, until one night, bright with full-moon-sheen, there strayed from me a she-camel profuse of milk-flow* Then my heart suffered me not to forbear the quest of her, and to throw her halter upon her hump [allowing her to wander at will]. So I sprang upon a swift- paced steed, planting a ti'embling lance between thigh and stirrup, and fared forth oil the night, scouring the desert, and exploring every copse and treeless place, until the morning dawn unfurled its ensigns, when the crier calls to prayer and to salvation. Then I alighted from my beast for the acquittance of the written ordinance, after which I bestrode him again, trying his mettle to the utmost
Other resources: online access to a very old Arabic manuscript of the work, with wonderful color illustrations, in a French library:
By the by, I read this simultaneously with Lizardi's , published in his native Mexico in 1830. Both describe the escapades of devious tricksters and cheats who reform in the end. Both revel in an elaborate style. Both do combine moral advice with plenty of vice. But Al-Hariri uses the most complex and respected rhetoric, while Lizardi reportedly used a wide variety of registers and semi-dialects to reflect the different stations of his characters. And Lizardi, following Cervantes and other picaresque authors, gets his protagonist involved in much worse behavior than Abu Zayd.
January 26, 2022
賮賷 賰賱 賲乇丞 毓賳丿 亘丿亍 兀賷 賲賯丕賲丞貙 兀鬲乇賯亘 馗賴賵乇 兀亘丕 夭賷丿 丕賱爻乇賵噩賷貨 賱兀亘鬲爻賲貙 兀賵鬲賷 丨購爻賳 亘賷丕賳 賷鬲賲賱氐 亘賴 賲賳 爻賵亍 賮毓丕賱賴貙 賵賮賷 賰賱 賲賯丕賲丞 賯氐丞賹貙 賵乇丨賱丞貙 賵賳氐賷丨丞貙 賵賮賵賯 賰賱 賴匕丕 廿賲鬲丕毓賹 亘賮氐丕丨丞 丕賱兀賱賮丕馗貙 賵丨賱丕賵丞 丕賱乇氐賮貙 賵毓匕賵亘丞 丕賱賳馗賲.
賱賲購丨亘 丕賱賱睾丞 丕賱毓乇亘賷丞 賲乇賻賾 毓賱賷賴 賵賱賳 鬲賳丿賲.
賱賲購丨亘 丕賱賱睾丞 丕賱毓乇亘賷丞 賲乇賻賾 毓賱賷賴 賵賱賳 鬲賳丿賲.
November 28, 2022
鈥徹з勝呝傌з呚ж� 賵亘丕賱鬲丨丿賷丿 賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 賲丕丿丞 禺氐亘丞 鬲購孬乇賷 賲賮乇丿丕鬲 丕賱賱睾丞 毓賳丿 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳貙 賲丕 廿賳 鬲賳鬲賴賷 賲賳 賯乇丕亍鬲賴丕 賵鬲賮賴賲 賲毓丕賳賷 兀賱賮丕馗賴丕 噩賷丿賸丕 爻賷賳毓卮 匕賱賰 賲禺夭賵賳賰 丕賱賱睾賵賷 賵賷購胤賵乇 賲賴丕乇丞 丕賱鬲丨丿孬 毓賳丿賰 .
賷爻鬲丨賯 兀賳 賷賰賵賳 賲爻賰 丕賱禺鬲丕賲貙 賵丕賱賰鬲丕亘 丕賱兀禺賷乇 賱賴匕丕 丕賱毓丕賲 (賵丕囟丨 丕賱鬲兀孬乇 亘丕賱賰鬲丕亘馃槀)
賷爻鬲丨賯 兀賳 賷賰賵賳 賲爻賰 丕賱禺鬲丕賲貙 賵丕賱賰鬲丕亘 丕賱兀禺賷乇 賱賴匕丕 丕賱毓丕賲 (賵丕囟丨 丕賱鬲兀孬乇 亘丕賱賰鬲丕亘馃槀)
June 28, 2022
鬲毓鬲亘乇 賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 (1122-1054) 賲賳 兀賴賲 丕賱賳氐賵氐 丕賱兀丿亘賷丞 丕賱賲賵乇賵孬丞 賲賳 丕賱毓氐乇 丕賱毓亘丕爻賷. 丕賱賳賵毓 丕賱兀丿亘賷 丕賱賲爻賲賶 賲賯丕賲丞 乇兀賶 丕賱賳賵乇 賲毓 亘丿賷毓 丕賱夭賲丕賳 丕賱賴賲匕丕賳賷 (1007-967)貙 賱賷氐賱 兀賵噩賴 賵 賷爻鬲賰賲賱 噩賲丕賱賷鬲賴 賲毓 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷. 丕賱賲賯丕賲丞 賳氐 爻乇丿賷 賯氐賷乇貙 毓賱賶 胤乇賷賯丞 賲丕 賷爻賲賷賴 丕賱毓乇亘 亘丕賱禺亘乇. 賷亘賷賳 賮賷賴 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 毓賳 匕賰丕卅賴 丕賱丨丕丿 賵 亘賱丕睾鬲賴. 賲賳 丨賷孬 丕賱賲賵囟賵毓貙 丕賱賲賯丕賲丞 睾丕賱亘丕 賲丕 鬲賰賵賳 匕丕鬲 胤丕亘毓 賮賰丕賴賷 禺賮賷賮貙 賱賰賳 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賷爻鬲睾賱 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賵囟毓賷丕鬲 賱賷賯丿賲 賲賵丕毓馗 賵 丨賰賲貙 賷禺賱賯 亘賴丕 鬲亘丕賷賳丕 噩賲賷賱丕 賵 賲鬲賰丕賲賱丕 亘賷賳 丕賱賱賴賵 賵 丕賱噩丿貙 賵 丕賱賮丕賳賷 賵 丕賱亘丕賯賷貙 賱賷爻 賮賯胤 賱廿賲鬲丕毓 丕賱賯丕乇卅 亘賱 賱廿孬丕乇丞 廿毓噩丕亘賴 賮賷 丕賱賯丿乇丞 毓賱賶 丕賱鬲丨賰賲 亘亘賱丕睾丞 賮賷 毓丕賱賲賷賳 賲鬲囟丕丿賷賳 賲鬲賳丕賯囟賷賳.
賮賷 賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷貙 鬲爻乇丿 卮禺氐賷丞 丕賱丨丕乇孬 亘賳 賴賲丕賲 兀禺亘丕乇 兀亘賷 夭賷丿 丕賱爻乇賵噩賷 賵 廿亘賳賴 賵 廿乇鬲丨丕賱賴賲丕 毓亘乇 乇亘賵毓 丕賱兀乇丕囟賷 丕賱廿爻賱丕賲賷丞貙 賮賳賳鬲賯賱 賲毓賴賲 賲賳 丕賱卮丕賲 廿賱賶 丕賱毓乇丕賯貙 賲氐乇 賵 丨鬲賶 丕賱賲睾乇亘 賵 廿賷乇丕賳. 鬲鬲禺賱賱 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱丿毓賵丞 廿賱賶 丕賱丕乇鬲丨丕賱 廿賳 賱賲 鬲賰賳 丕賱丨丕噩丞 丕賱賲丕爻丞 廿賱賷賴貙 毓賱賶 胤乇賷賯丞 丕賱毓乇亘 丕賱亘丿賵貙 賱賱亘丨孬 毓賳 丕賱兀禺亘丕乇 賵 鬲毓賱賲 兀爻乇丕乇 丕賱亘賱丕睾丞 賵 丕賱賱睾丞 賲賳 乇賵丕丿賴丕.
兀亘賵 夭賷丿 丕賱爻乇賵噩賷 賷馗賴乇 賴賳丕 賵 賷禺鬲賮賷 賴賳丕賰. 亘亘賱丕睾鬲賴 賷丨鬲丕賱 毓賱賶 賰亘賷乇 丕賱卮兀賳 賵 氐睾賷乇賴. 賱爻丕賳賴 爻賱丕丨賴. 賲賳 賲賳馗賵乇 賲丨丕賮馗貙 賯丿 鬲亘丿賵 賴匕賴 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞 氐丕丿賲丞 賱賱賯丕乇卅 丕賱賲毓丕氐乇貙 賮賴賵 賱丕 賷禺卮賶 丕賱毓亘丕丿 賵賱丕 丕賱丕賱賴. 胤賲丕毓 賲丨鬲丕賱 賰匕丕亘 賱賷爻 賱賯賱丞 丨賷丕亍賴 丨丿賵丿. 鬲噩丿賴 賮賷 亘毓囟 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 賷兀賲 丕賱賲氐賱賷賳 賳賴丕乇丕 賵 賷丿毓賵賴賲 廿賱賶 丕賱夭賴丿貙 賵 賱賷賱丕 賷爻鬲賯賷賱 廿賱賶 丕賱禺賲乇 賵 丕賱胤乇亘. 毓賳丿賲丕 賷賵丕噩賴賴 丕賱丨丕乇孬 亘爻賵亍 兀賮毓丕賱賴 賵 廿賮鬲乇丕亍賴 毓賱賶 丕賱賳丕爻 賱丕 賷馗賴乇 匕乇丞 禺噩賱貙 亘賱 賷丿丕賮毓 亘賰賱 亘賱丕睾丞 毓賳 氐賳毓丞 丕賱賲丨鬲丕賱賷賳 賵 丕賱賰匕丕亘賷賳.
賴匕丕 丕賱賱亘爻 賮賷 丕賱賲孬賱 丕賱兀禺賱丕賯賷 丕賱鬲賷 賷賵丿 廿賷氐丕賱賴 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賱丕 賷賯鬲氐乇 毓賱賶 賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 賮賯胤貙 亘賱 賳噩丿賴 賮賷 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賲賵乇賵孬 丕賱兀丿亘賷 賲賳 丕賱毓氐乇 丕賱毓亘丕爻賷. 賱乇亘賲丕 賴賵 賲匕賰乇 毓賳 丕賱賲爻丕賮丞 丕賱卮丕爻毓丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲賮氐賱賳丕 毓賳賴. 賱賷爻 賮賯胤 賱睾賵賷丕 亘賱 丨鬲賶 賯賷賲賷丕. 賱賯丿 賰丕賳 丕賱毓氐乇 丕賱毓亘丕爻賷 賯亘賱 賰賱 卮賷亍 賲乇丨賱丞 鬲賰賵賷賳賷丞 賮賷 丕賱丨囟丕乇丞 丕賱丕爻賱丕賲賷丞. 鬲賲賷夭 亘鬲賳賵毓 賵 丿賷賳丕賲賷丞 孬賯丕賮賷丞 賰亘賷乇丞. 賲丕賷賲賰賳 兀賳 賷賰賵賳 氐丕丿賲丕 賱賳丕 丕賱賷賵賲 賱賲 賷賰賳 賰匕賱賰 賮賷 賲噩鬲賲毓 賷毓賷卮 賮鬲乇丞 丕夭丿賴丕乇 賵 孬賯丞 賮賷 賯丿乇丕鬲賴 丿賮毓鬲賴 賳丨賵 卮噩丕毓丞 賯丕乇亘鬲 丕賱噩乇兀丞貙 噩乇兀丞 氐乇賳丕 賳丨賳 亘毓賷丿賷賳 噩丿丕 毓賳賴丕.
亘毓賷丿丕 毓賳 賴匕賴 丕賱鬲賰賴賳丕鬲貙 鬲亘賯賶 賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 賱賵丨丞 賮賳賷丞 賱睾賵賷丞. 賴匕丕 廿爻丕爻 賵噩賵丿賴丕 賵 爻亘亘 廿賳卮丕卅賴丕. 賳噩丿 賮賷賴丕 賲爻丕卅賱 賵 兀丨丕噩賷 賷鬲丨丿賶 賮賷賴丕 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 毓賱賲丕亍 丕賱賱睾丞. 賰丕賱乇爻丕賱丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲賯乇兀 賲賳 丕賱丕鬲噩丕賴 丕賱賲毓丕賰爻 賵 鬲丨丕賮馗 毓賱賶 賲毓賳丕賴丕. 爻噩毓 賵 卮毓乇 兀乇賯胤貙 亘丨乇賮 匕賷 賳賯胤 賵 丕賱匕賷 賷賱賷賴 睾賷乇 賲賳賯胤. 賷亘乇賴賳 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 兀賷囟丕 毓賱賶 賲毓乇賮鬲賴 亘丕賱廿爻鬲毓賲丕賱丕鬲 丕賱賳丕丿乇丞 賱賱賰賱賲丕鬲貙 丕賱鬲賷 鬲賰鬲爻亘 賲毓丕賳賷 兀禺乇賶 賮賷 爻賷丕賯 丌禺乇 賲賲丕 賷乇賲賷 丕賱賯丕乇卅 丕賱睾賷乇 賲鬲賲乇爻 賮賷 丕賱丨賷乇丞 賵 丕賱毓噩亘. 賰賱 賴匕丕貙 賲毓 丕賱丨賮丕馗 毓賱賶 丕賱噩賲丕賱賷丞 賵 丕賱賵夭賳 賵 丕賱卮賰賱. 鬲賰丕丿 賲爻丕卅賱賴 鬲賰賵賳貙 乇睾賲 氐毓賵亘鬲賴丕貙 賰賲賵爻賷賯賶 賮賷 兀匕賳 丕賱賯丕乇卅. 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 賴賷 賲毓噩夭丕鬲 賱睾賵賷丞 賳丨賳 賲丨馗賵馗賵賳 噩丿丕 賱兀賳賴丕 賵氐賱鬲 廿賱賷賳丕 毓亘乇 賰賱 賴匕賴 丕賱賯乇賵賳.
賮賷 賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷貙 鬲爻乇丿 卮禺氐賷丞 丕賱丨丕乇孬 亘賳 賴賲丕賲 兀禺亘丕乇 兀亘賷 夭賷丿 丕賱爻乇賵噩賷 賵 廿亘賳賴 賵 廿乇鬲丨丕賱賴賲丕 毓亘乇 乇亘賵毓 丕賱兀乇丕囟賷 丕賱廿爻賱丕賲賷丞貙 賮賳賳鬲賯賱 賲毓賴賲 賲賳 丕賱卮丕賲 廿賱賶 丕賱毓乇丕賯貙 賲氐乇 賵 丨鬲賶 丕賱賲睾乇亘 賵 廿賷乇丕賳. 鬲鬲禺賱賱 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱丿毓賵丞 廿賱賶 丕賱丕乇鬲丨丕賱 廿賳 賱賲 鬲賰賳 丕賱丨丕噩丞 丕賱賲丕爻丞 廿賱賷賴貙 毓賱賶 胤乇賷賯丞 丕賱毓乇亘 丕賱亘丿賵貙 賱賱亘丨孬 毓賳 丕賱兀禺亘丕乇 賵 鬲毓賱賲 兀爻乇丕乇 丕賱亘賱丕睾丞 賵 丕賱賱睾丞 賲賳 乇賵丕丿賴丕.
兀亘賵 夭賷丿 丕賱爻乇賵噩賷 賷馗賴乇 賴賳丕 賵 賷禺鬲賮賷 賴賳丕賰. 亘亘賱丕睾鬲賴 賷丨鬲丕賱 毓賱賶 賰亘賷乇 丕賱卮兀賳 賵 氐睾賷乇賴. 賱爻丕賳賴 爻賱丕丨賴. 賲賳 賲賳馗賵乇 賲丨丕賮馗貙 賯丿 鬲亘丿賵 賴匕賴 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞 氐丕丿賲丞 賱賱賯丕乇卅 丕賱賲毓丕氐乇貙 賮賴賵 賱丕 賷禺卮賶 丕賱毓亘丕丿 賵賱丕 丕賱丕賱賴. 胤賲丕毓 賲丨鬲丕賱 賰匕丕亘 賱賷爻 賱賯賱丞 丨賷丕亍賴 丨丿賵丿. 鬲噩丿賴 賮賷 亘毓囟 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 賷兀賲 丕賱賲氐賱賷賳 賳賴丕乇丕 賵 賷丿毓賵賴賲 廿賱賶 丕賱夭賴丿貙 賵 賱賷賱丕 賷爻鬲賯賷賱 廿賱賶 丕賱禺賲乇 賵 丕賱胤乇亘. 毓賳丿賲丕 賷賵丕噩賴賴 丕賱丨丕乇孬 亘爻賵亍 兀賮毓丕賱賴 賵 廿賮鬲乇丕亍賴 毓賱賶 丕賱賳丕爻 賱丕 賷馗賴乇 匕乇丞 禺噩賱貙 亘賱 賷丿丕賮毓 亘賰賱 亘賱丕睾丞 毓賳 氐賳毓丞 丕賱賲丨鬲丕賱賷賳 賵 丕賱賰匕丕亘賷賳.
賴匕丕 丕賱賱亘爻 賮賷 丕賱賲孬賱 丕賱兀禺賱丕賯賷 丕賱鬲賷 賷賵丿 廿賷氐丕賱賴 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賱丕 賷賯鬲氐乇 毓賱賶 賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 賮賯胤貙 亘賱 賳噩丿賴 賮賷 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賲賵乇賵孬 丕賱兀丿亘賷 賲賳 丕賱毓氐乇 丕賱毓亘丕爻賷. 賱乇亘賲丕 賴賵 賲匕賰乇 毓賳 丕賱賲爻丕賮丞 丕賱卮丕爻毓丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲賮氐賱賳丕 毓賳賴. 賱賷爻 賮賯胤 賱睾賵賷丕 亘賱 丨鬲賶 賯賷賲賷丕. 賱賯丿 賰丕賳 丕賱毓氐乇 丕賱毓亘丕爻賷 賯亘賱 賰賱 卮賷亍 賲乇丨賱丞 鬲賰賵賷賳賷丞 賮賷 丕賱丨囟丕乇丞 丕賱丕爻賱丕賲賷丞. 鬲賲賷夭 亘鬲賳賵毓 賵 丿賷賳丕賲賷丞 孬賯丕賮賷丞 賰亘賷乇丞. 賲丕賷賲賰賳 兀賳 賷賰賵賳 氐丕丿賲丕 賱賳丕 丕賱賷賵賲 賱賲 賷賰賳 賰匕賱賰 賮賷 賲噩鬲賲毓 賷毓賷卮 賮鬲乇丞 丕夭丿賴丕乇 賵 孬賯丞 賮賷 賯丿乇丕鬲賴 丿賮毓鬲賴 賳丨賵 卮噩丕毓丞 賯丕乇亘鬲 丕賱噩乇兀丞貙 噩乇兀丞 氐乇賳丕 賳丨賳 亘毓賷丿賷賳 噩丿丕 毓賳賴丕.
亘毓賷丿丕 毓賳 賴匕賴 丕賱鬲賰賴賳丕鬲貙 鬲亘賯賶 賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 賱賵丨丞 賮賳賷丞 賱睾賵賷丞. 賴匕丕 廿爻丕爻 賵噩賵丿賴丕 賵 爻亘亘 廿賳卮丕卅賴丕. 賳噩丿 賮賷賴丕 賲爻丕卅賱 賵 兀丨丕噩賷 賷鬲丨丿賶 賮賷賴丕 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 毓賱賲丕亍 丕賱賱睾丞. 賰丕賱乇爻丕賱丞 丕賱鬲賷 鬲賯乇兀 賲賳 丕賱丕鬲噩丕賴 丕賱賲毓丕賰爻 賵 鬲丨丕賮馗 毓賱賶 賲毓賳丕賴丕. 爻噩毓 賵 卮毓乇 兀乇賯胤貙 亘丨乇賮 匕賷 賳賯胤 賵 丕賱匕賷 賷賱賷賴 睾賷乇 賲賳賯胤. 賷亘乇賴賳 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 兀賷囟丕 毓賱賶 賲毓乇賮鬲賴 亘丕賱廿爻鬲毓賲丕賱丕鬲 丕賱賳丕丿乇丞 賱賱賰賱賲丕鬲貙 丕賱鬲賷 鬲賰鬲爻亘 賲毓丕賳賷 兀禺乇賶 賮賷 爻賷丕賯 丌禺乇 賲賲丕 賷乇賲賷 丕賱賯丕乇卅 丕賱睾賷乇 賲鬲賲乇爻 賮賷 丕賱丨賷乇丞 賵 丕賱毓噩亘. 賰賱 賴匕丕貙 賲毓 丕賱丨賮丕馗 毓賱賶 丕賱噩賲丕賱賷丞 賵 丕賱賵夭賳 賵 丕賱卮賰賱. 鬲賰丕丿 賲爻丕卅賱賴 鬲賰賵賳貙 乇睾賲 氐毓賵亘鬲賴丕貙 賰賲賵爻賷賯賶 賮賷 兀匕賳 丕賱賯丕乇卅. 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 賴賷 賲毓噩夭丕鬲 賱睾賵賷丞 賳丨賳 賲丨馗賵馗賵賳 噩丿丕 賱兀賳賴丕 賵氐賱鬲 廿賱賷賳丕 毓亘乇 賰賱 賴匕賴 丕賱賯乇賵賳.
May 8, 2014
Despite the fact that this is a translation from Arabic, it is an outstanding, luscious, eloquent, example of demonstration via dialogue. A sadly neglected work.
August 13, 2018
兀丨丿 毓卮乇 卮賴乇丕 賲賳匕 丕賳胤賱丕賯 賲亘丕丿乇丞 廿丨賷丕亍 丕賱亘賷丕賳 賮賯囟賷賳丕賴丕 亘氐丨亘丞 賴匕丕 丕賱爻賮乇 丕賱毓馗賷賲 丕賱賲匕賴賱
賲賳 匕丕 丕賱匕賷 爻賷賵賮賷賴 丨賯賴 亘賲乇丕噩毓丞 毓馗賷賲丞 鬲賱賷賯 亘賴責
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賯賳丕丞 丕賱賲亘丕丿乇丞 賮賷 丕賱賷賵鬲賷賵亘 賵賮賷賴丕 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 賲囟亘賵胤丞 亘丕賱賳爻禺丞 丕賱賲丨賯賯丞 亘廿賱賯丕亍 丕賱乇丕卅毓 毓賱賷 丕賱毓丕賲乇賷
賲賳 匕丕 丕賱匕賷 爻賷賵賮賷賴 丨賯賴 亘賲乇丕噩毓丞 毓馗賷賲丞 鬲賱賷賯 亘賴責
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賯賳丕丞 丕賱賲亘丕丿乇丞 賮賷 丕賱賷賵鬲賷賵亘 賵賮賷賴丕 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 賲囟亘賵胤丞 亘丕賱賳爻禺丞 丕賱賲丨賯賯丞 亘廿賱賯丕亍 丕賱乇丕卅毓 毓賱賷 丕賱毓丕賲乇賷
June 21, 2016
賮賷 賲賷夭丕賳 賲丐賱賮丕鬲 丕賱亘卮乇 貙 賴匕丕 賱賷爻 賰鬲丕亘丕賸 貙 廿賳賲丕 兀禺匕丞賹 賲賯鬲丿賽乇丞賹 毓亘乇 丕賱爻丨乇 丕賱亘賷丕賳賷 賵丕賱廿丿賴丕卮 丕賱亘賱丕睾賷 賵丕賱廿毓噩丕夭 丕賱賳馗賲賷 貙 賱丕 賷胤丕賵賱 爻賲賵賯賻賴 賳馗賲賹 賵賱丕 賷丿丕賳賷 亘購爻購賵賯賻賴 亘賷丕賳...賴
May 14, 2022
賷賯丕賱: 廿賳 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 賰鬲亘 禺胤賴 毓賱賶 爻亘毓賲丕卅丞 賳爻禺丞 賲賳 賲賯丕賲丕鬲賴 賯乇卅鬲 毓賱賷賴貙 賵兀賰亘乇 丕賱馗賳 兀賳 丕賴鬲賲丕賲賴 亘賴丕 毓賱賶 賴匕丕 丕賱賳丨賵貙 賴賵 丕賱匕賷 丨丕賱 亘賷賳賴丕 賵亘賷賳 丕賱亘鬲乇 賵丕賱丨匕賮貙 賵丕賱鬲睾賷賷乇貙 賵賱匕賱賰 賰丕賳鬲 賲賯丕賲丕鬲賴 賲賳 賴匕賴 丕賱賵噩賴丞貙 兀鬲賲 賵兀胤乇賮 賲賳 賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱亘丿賷毓 丕賱鬲賷 鬲亘丿賵 賲亘鬲賵乇丞 賮賷 賰孬賷乇丞 賲賳 丕賱兀丨賷丕賳.
April 22, 2016
賷夭禺乇 鬲乇丕孬賳丕 丕賱毓乇亘賷 亘丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賰賳賵夭 丕賱賲鬲賮乇丿丞貙 賵賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱丨乇賷乇賷 兀丨丿 兀賳賮爻 賴匕賴 丕賱賰賳賵夭.
賲毓丕賳賺 毓馗賷賲丞 賲賳孬賵乇丞 賵賲賳馗賵賲丞 賮賷 賴匕丕 丕賱賲噩賱丿 丕賱毓馗賷賲.
賯乇丕亍鬲賴 賲賴賲丞 賵丕賱丕爻鬲夭丕丿丞 賲賳賴 賲胤賱亘.
賲毓丕賳賺 毓馗賷賲丞 賲賳孬賵乇丞 賵賲賳馗賵賲丞 賮賷 賴匕丕 丕賱賲噩賱丿 丕賱毓馗賷賲.
賯乇丕亍鬲賴 賲賴賲丞 賵丕賱丕爻鬲夭丕丿丞 賲賳賴 賲胤賱亘.
May 18, 2017
賯乇兀鬲 亘毓囟 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲貙 賵丕賱賷賵賲 兀賳丕 賱賴丕 毓丕卅丿 賵丌鬲貙 賲匕 爻賱亘鬲賳賷 賮賷 爻賳賷賳 丕賱賲乇丕賴賯丕鬲貙 賰兀賳賴丕 爻丨乇貙 賱賷爻 賱賴丕 卮丕胤卅 賲賳 亘丨乇貙 賵賱丕 賰賮丕賷丞 賲賳 賯丿乇貙 乇鬲亘鬲 毓賱賶 賳丨賵 賲賳 丕賱乇賷丕囟賷丕鬲 賵丕賱噩賻亘乇貙 賮賷賴丕 賲賳 丕賱賯氐氐 毓亘乇丞 賵匕賰乇貙 賵賲賳 丕賱賳馗賲 賱匕賷匕 賲賳 丕賱卮賽毓乇.
December 15, 2021
Whatever this is, a translation, a transcreation, or an "Englishing" (the translator's word), it is an impressive feat and gloriously entertaining, possibly even more entertaining in English than in the original Arabic. Instead of rhymed prose with an proto-oulipian constrained writing exercise (a letter which can be read backwards and forwards, a poem which only uses one vowel etc.), we get virtually all the constrained writing or their equivalents in English, and the stories are written in 50 (51 actually) different writing styles, from pastiches of well-known authors to various slangs from all over the world. This playfulness, although it forces the translator to occasionally veer away from the letter, is true (or at least seems so to a non-Arabic speaker) to the original. Of course, some pastiches are more convincing than others, and some of the slangs are a bit of a slog to read and require constant flicking back-and-forth between the text and the glossary, BUT, all in all, this was amazing.
The stories themselves follow a similar structure: Al-Harith (always in a different town) comes across some bloke, often in rags, who impresses everyone with his oratory skills, or delivers a great sermon, or asks for their pity, or is bringing his son or wife before a judge for some reason or other. At the end, people give him money, Al-Harith follows him, and it is revealed that the bloke is (surprise surprise) his old friend Abu Zayd, and the whole thing was a scam. The stories would probably be fairly repetitive if not for translator Michael Cooperson's delightfully crazy idea of writing each story in a different style. And like all great authors, Al-Hariri leaves the reader with more questions than answers: is Abu Zayd's embrace of a religious life at the end to be taken seriously, and if so, what of his deathbed advice to his son on becoming a rogue like him? Why does Al-Harith never recognize Al-Hariri? Why are their destinities so mysteriously entwined, to the point where they meet "by chance" in so many different places?
The stories themselves follow a similar structure: Al-Harith (always in a different town) comes across some bloke, often in rags, who impresses everyone with his oratory skills, or delivers a great sermon, or asks for their pity, or is bringing his son or wife before a judge for some reason or other. At the end, people give him money, Al-Harith follows him, and it is revealed that the bloke is (surprise surprise) his old friend Abu Zayd, and the whole thing was a scam. The stories would probably be fairly repetitive if not for translator Michael Cooperson's delightfully crazy idea of writing each story in a different style. And like all great authors, Al-Hariri leaves the reader with more questions than answers: is Abu Zayd's embrace of a religious life at the end to be taken seriously, and if so, what of his deathbed advice to his son on becoming a rogue like him? Why does Al-Harith never recognize Al-Hariri? Why are their destinities so mysteriously entwined, to the point where they meet "by chance" in so many different places?
May 14, 2022
賷丕賯賵鬲 賯丕賱: 賱賯丿 賵丕賮賯 賰鬲丕亘 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 "賱賱丨乇賷乇賷" 賲賳 丕賱爻毓丿 賲丕 賱賲 賷賵丕賮賯 賲孬賱賴 賰鬲丕亘貨 賮廿賳賴 噩賲毓 亘賷賳 丨賯賷賯丞 丕賱噩賵丿丞 賵丕賱亘賱丕睾丞貙 賵丕鬲爻毓鬲 賱賴 丕賱兀賱賮丕馗 賵丕賳賯丕丿鬲 賱賴 丕賱亘乇丕毓丞 ... 丨鬲賶 賱賵 丕丿毓賶 亘賴丕 丕賱廿毓噩丕夭 賱賲丕 賵噩丿 賲賳 賷丿賮毓 賮賷 氐丿乇賴貙 賵賱丕 賲賳 賷乇丿 賯賵賱賴 賵賱丕 賷兀鬲賷 亘賲丕 賷賯丕乇亘賴丕 賮囟賱丕 毓賳 兀賳 賷兀鬲賷 亘賲孬賱賴丕貙 賵賯丿 乇夭賯鬲 -賲毓 匕賱賰- 賲賳 丕賱卮賴乇丞 賵亘毓丿 丕賱氐賷鬲貙 賵丕賱丕鬲賮丕賯 毓賱賶 丕爻鬲丨爻丕賳賴丕 賲賳 丕賱賲賵丕賮賯 賵丕賱賲禺丕賱賮 賲丕 丕爻鬲丨賯鬲 賵兀賰孬乇 "
April 27, 2016
賲賯丕賲丕鬲 亘丿賷毓丞 賵賲睾丕賲乇丕鬲 卮賷賯丞 賵賴賷 賯氐氐 賯氐賷乇丞 賰鬲亘鬲 亘兀爻賱賵亘 賲鬲賯賳 賵賲爻噩賵毓 鬲氐賵乇 賮賷 賲噩賲賵毓賴丕 賵丕賯毓 丨賷丕丞 丕賱賳丕爻 賮賷 毓氐乇 丕賱賲丐賱賮. 賷睾賱亘 毓賱賶 賴匕賴 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 毓賳氐乇賷 丕賱胤乇丕賮丞 賵丕賱鬲卮賵賷賯. 賵賮賷賴丕 丨賰賲丞 賵兀丿亘 賵卮毓乇 賵賵毓馗 賵睾賷乇賴丕 毓賱賶 賲丕 賷噩乇賷 賮賷 賰孬賷乇 賲賳 賰鬲亘 丕賱兀丿亘 匕賱賰 丕賱賵賯鬲.
January 7, 2014
賰賱 賵氐賮 賷賯氐乇 丿賵賳賴 ..
兀鬲丨賮賳丕 亘賭賭" 兀賷丕 賲賳 賷丿毓賷 丕賱賮賴賲 " ... " 禺賱賾 丕丿賰丕乇 丕賱兀乇亘毓 "
...
賱賱賴 丿乇賾賴 賲賳 廿賲丕賲 賴賲丕賲 , 賱賲 鬲爻賲丨 亘賲孬賱賴 丕賱兀賷賾丕賲
兀鬲丨賮賳丕 亘賭賭" 兀賷丕 賲賳 賷丿毓賷 丕賱賮賴賲 " ... " 禺賱賾 丕丿賰丕乇 丕賱兀乇亘毓 "
...
賱賱賴 丿乇賾賴 賲賳 廿賲丕賲 賴賲丕賲 , 賱賲 鬲爻賲丨 亘賲孬賱賴 丕賱兀賷賾丕賲
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February 10, 2025For my Madrassa exam, I鈥檝e to read 3 impostures from "Impostures" by Imam Hariri out of a total of 50, and I actually loved the introductory part! But as I got deeper into the reading, I found it pretty tough to continue. The book is densely packed with literary complexity. It explores how skilled wordsmiths manipulate others, as seen in the interaction between Abu Zaid Suruji and Harith Ibne Hashaam throughout the book.
The book has great intentions鈥攊t aims to make us aware of those who wield words cleverly but may not always be truthful. However, I'll be honest, I'm struggling to keep up with the intricate writing style. Hariri's rich and engaging prose demands significant mental effort.
If you're into classic literature and enjoy a challenging read, this book could be a good fit for you.
The book has great intentions鈥攊t aims to make us aware of those who wield words cleverly but may not always be truthful. However, I'll be honest, I'm struggling to keep up with the intricate writing style. Hariri's rich and engaging prose demands significant mental effort.
If you're into classic literature and enjoy a challenging read, this book could be a good fit for you.
May 30, 2022
賳賮爻 丕賱賲丨鬲丕賱 賮賷 禺賲爻賷賳 賲丨丕賵賱丞 丕丨鬲賷丕賱 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 賴賵 兀亘賵 夭賷丿 丕賱爻乇賵噩賷貙 賷丨鬲丕賱 亘賴丕 毓賱賶 丕賱賳丕爻 亘爻丨乇 亘賷丕賳賴 賵賴賳丕 賷馗賴乇 賮賳 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 丕賱匕賷 賷毓丿 孬乇賵丞 賱睾賵賷丞 賰亘賷乇丞 賱丿丕乇爻 丕賱賱睾丞貙 賵 賱睾賷乇 丕賱賲禺鬲氐 鬲丨賱賶 亘丕賱氐亘乇 賵 丕卮乇丨 丕賱賰賱賲丕鬲 賮賷 丕賱賲賯丕賲丞 賵 賰兀賳賰 賮賷 賲毓噩賲 賱睾賵賷 賵 丨亘匕丕 賱賵 賰鬲亘鬲 丕賱賲毓丕賳賷 賮賵賯 丕賱賰賱賲丕鬲 賵 亘毓丿賴丕 兀毓丿 賯乇丕亍丞 丕賱賲賯丕賲丞 賵 丕爻鬲賱匕 亘亘丨乇 賲賳 丕賱賱睾丞 賵 丕賱賱胤丕賮丞
賵賱賰賳 亘毓賷丿賸丕 毓賳 丕賱丨氐賷賱丞 丕賱賱睾賵賷丞 賵丕賱亘乇丕毓丞 賮賷 丕賱氐賷丕睾丞 賵 丕賱爻亘賰 丕賱兀丿亘賷 賵丕賱賱睾賵賷 賰賱 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 賯氐氐 賲鬲卮丕亘賴丞 匕丕鬲 丕賱兀爻賱賵亘 賵 匕丕鬲 丕賱賲丨鬲丕賱 賵 丕賱胤乇賷賯丞 賮賷 丕賱丕丨鬲賷丕賱 賮賱丕 賷賵噩丿 賯氐丞 賲賴賲丞 睾賷乇 亘毓囟 丕賱毓賽亘乇 賵丕賱賲賵丕毓馗 亘賷賳 丕賱爻胤賵乇 亘賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱鬲賰賱賮..
賵賱賰賳 亘毓賷丿賸丕 毓賳 丕賱丨氐賷賱丞 丕賱賱睾賵賷丞 賵丕賱亘乇丕毓丞 賮賷 丕賱氐賷丕睾丞 賵 丕賱爻亘賰 丕賱兀丿亘賷 賵丕賱賱睾賵賷 賰賱 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 賯氐氐 賲鬲卮丕亘賴丞 匕丕鬲 丕賱兀爻賱賵亘 賵 匕丕鬲 丕賱賲丨鬲丕賱 賵 丕賱胤乇賷賯丞 賮賷 丕賱丕丨鬲賷丕賱 賮賱丕 賷賵噩丿 賯氐丞 賲賴賲丞 睾賷乇 亘毓囟 丕賱毓賽亘乇 賵丕賱賲賵丕毓馗 亘賷賳 丕賱爻胤賵乇 亘賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱鬲賰賱賮..
November 2, 2022
I went to a fair bit of effort to get our library to buy a copy. Well, big disappointment! I found the thing almost unreadable. I kept trying & skimming but ultimately gave up. Not for me. Too bad. Your mileage may vary!
Got a rave review from the WSJ:
Author of the original: al-Har墨r墨 of Basra (1054-1122)
Excerpt:
"The narrator [of the stories] is a man named al-H膩rith, who describes his encounters with an itinerant con man known as Ab奴 Zayd. This trickster poet appears in various disguises to gull people out of their money, sometimes in a court of law but usually by delivering sermons or performing off-the-cuff recitals. The scenarios may be comic or instructional, but fundamentally they exist to display al-Har墨r墨鈥檚 rhetorical mastery. They feature complex rhymes, puns and alliteration. Ab奴 Zayd invents palindromes and riddles. He composes stories that can be understood in two different ways because they are filled entirely with homophones or words with double meanings.
鈥淪trictly speaking, none of these features can be translated; they can only be imitated,鈥� Michael Cooperson writes in 鈥淚mpostures鈥� (New York University, 484 pages, $29.95), his astounding new adaptation of the Maq膩m膩t of al-Har墨r墨. 鈥淎nd the only way to imitate them is to throw out the rule book.鈥� His first marker of intent is the bespoke title, which has no direct correlation to the Arabic but playfully references Ab奴 Zayd鈥檚 deceptions while still, with 鈥減osture,鈥� keeping a sidelong allusion to the act of standing. Mr. Cooperson, a professor of Arabic at UCLA, takes on the work鈥檚 prodigious wordplay with the same license to invent, often only reflecting the source in glancing or ironic ways. In one Imposture, for instance, Ab奴 Zayd is challenged to compose a speech in which the words alternate between those that consist of letters with dots (half the Arabic alphabet) and those that don鈥檛. Since this is impossible to replicate in English, Mr. Cooperson devises a comparable constraint, switching back and forth between words of Germanic and Romance origins (鈥淟iberality will gratify others; pinching pennies disappoints鈥�). ...
The verbal profusion is ludicrous, joyfully so. Speaking to an interviewer, Mr. Cooperson remarked that the Maq膩m膩t is 鈥渁 book that shows off everything that Arabic can do.鈥� 锟斤拷Impostures鈥� shows off English in the same flattering light, demonstrating its dynamism, its endurance, its mutability and its glorious, weedy wildness. In this way, a translation that is so brazen in its liberties is faithful to the spirit of the original."
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Got a rave review from the WSJ:
Author of the original: al-Har墨r墨 of Basra (1054-1122)
Excerpt:
"The narrator [of the stories] is a man named al-H膩rith, who describes his encounters with an itinerant con man known as Ab奴 Zayd. This trickster poet appears in various disguises to gull people out of their money, sometimes in a court of law but usually by delivering sermons or performing off-the-cuff recitals. The scenarios may be comic or instructional, but fundamentally they exist to display al-Har墨r墨鈥檚 rhetorical mastery. They feature complex rhymes, puns and alliteration. Ab奴 Zayd invents palindromes and riddles. He composes stories that can be understood in two different ways because they are filled entirely with homophones or words with double meanings.
鈥淪trictly speaking, none of these features can be translated; they can only be imitated,鈥� Michael Cooperson writes in 鈥淚mpostures鈥� (New York University, 484 pages, $29.95), his astounding new adaptation of the Maq膩m膩t of al-Har墨r墨. 鈥淎nd the only way to imitate them is to throw out the rule book.鈥� His first marker of intent is the bespoke title, which has no direct correlation to the Arabic but playfully references Ab奴 Zayd鈥檚 deceptions while still, with 鈥減osture,鈥� keeping a sidelong allusion to the act of standing. Mr. Cooperson, a professor of Arabic at UCLA, takes on the work鈥檚 prodigious wordplay with the same license to invent, often only reflecting the source in glancing or ironic ways. In one Imposture, for instance, Ab奴 Zayd is challenged to compose a speech in which the words alternate between those that consist of letters with dots (half the Arabic alphabet) and those that don鈥檛. Since this is impossible to replicate in English, Mr. Cooperson devises a comparable constraint, switching back and forth between words of Germanic and Romance origins (鈥淟iberality will gratify others; pinching pennies disappoints鈥�). ...
The verbal profusion is ludicrous, joyfully so. Speaking to an interviewer, Mr. Cooperson remarked that the Maq膩m膩t is 鈥渁 book that shows off everything that Arabic can do.鈥� 锟斤拷Impostures鈥� shows off English in the same flattering light, demonstrating its dynamism, its endurance, its mutability and its glorious, weedy wildness. In this way, a translation that is so brazen in its liberties is faithful to the spirit of the original."
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
March 9, 2021
賲賳 丕賱賳丕丨賷丞 丕賱兀丿亘賷丞 賮賴賷 鬲丨賮丞 賮賳賷丞貙 賲賳 丕賱賳丕丨賷丞 丕賱兀禺賱丕賯賷丞 賮賮賷 丕賱兀賲乇 賯賵賱貙 賮兀睾賱亘 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 鬲丿賵乇 丨賵賱 丿賴丕亍 兀亘賵 夭賷丿 丕賱爻乇賵噩賷 賵賯丿乇鬲賴 毓賱賶 禺丿丕毓 丕賱賳丕爻 賵兀禺匕 兀賲賵丕賱賴賲 賲賳賴賲 亘丕賱丨賷賱丞貙 賰賳鬲 賲鬲賮賴賲丕賸 兀賳 賴匕丕 丕賱賳賵毓 賲賳 丕賱兀丿亘 賷乇賰夭 毓賱賶 丕賱賯賷賲丞 丕賱賱睾賵賷丞 賵賷鬲爻丕賴賱 賲毓 丕賱賲毓賳賶 丕匕 兀賳 賲丕 賷賴賲賴 賴賵 丕賱賲亘賳賶 賱丕 丕賱賲毓賳賶貙 賵賱賰賳 兀孬丕乇 丨賮賷馗鬲賷 賮賷 丕賱賳賴丕賷丞 鬲賮囟賷賱 賳氐丕卅丨賴 毓賱賶 賳氐丕卅丨 賱賯賲丕賳 丕賱賵丕乇丿丞 賮賷 丕賱賯乇丌賳 賮賷 賳锟斤拷丕賷丞 賲賯丕賲鬲賴 丕賱爻丕爻丕賳賷丞貙 賵賰丿鬲 兀賳 兀毓胤賷 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 孬賱丕孬 賳噩賵賲 亘爻亘亘 匕賱賰 賵賱賰賳 賲賳毓賳賷 賲賳 匕賱賰 兀禺賱丕賯 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 丕匕 丕賳賴 丕毓鬲匕乇 賮賷 丕賱亘丿丕賷丞 賵賮賷 丕賱賳賴丕賷丞 毓賲 賵乇丿 賲賳賴 賲賳 丕賱賱睾賵 賵丕賱賰賱丕賲 毓丿賷賲 丕賱賮丕卅丿丞貙 賵賰兀賳賴 卮毓乇 亘兀賳賴 "鬲禺賳賴丕" 賮賷 丌禺乇 賲賯丕賲丞 賴賴賴賴貙 兀賲丕 賲賳 丕賱賳丕丨賷丞 丕賱賱睾賵賷丞 賵丕賱賯賵丕賮賷 丕賱乇卅毓丞 賮丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賷爻鬲丨賯 毓卮乇丞 賳噩賵賲
丕爻鬲睾乇賯 賰鬲丕亘丞 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 賰賱賴丕 爻亘毓 爻賳賷賳 賵賴賷 禺賲爻賷賳 賲賯丕賲丞貙 賵賴匕丕 賷丿賱 毓賱賶 氐毓賵亘丞 賴匕丕 丕賱賳賵毓 賲賳 丕賱賰鬲丕亘丞貙 賮賰賱 丕賱丕丨鬲乇丕賲 賱賱噩賴丿 丕賱賲亘匕賵賱 賮賷 爻亘賷賱 丕賲鬲丕毓 丕賱賯乇丕亍
丕爻鬲睾乇賯 賰鬲丕亘丞 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 賰賱賴丕 爻亘毓 爻賳賷賳 賵賴賷 禺賲爻賷賳 賲賯丕賲丞貙 賵賴匕丕 賷丿賱 毓賱賶 氐毓賵亘丞 賴匕丕 丕賱賳賵毓 賲賳 丕賱賰鬲丕亘丞貙 賮賰賱 丕賱丕丨鬲乇丕賲 賱賱噩賴丿 丕賱賲亘匕賵賱 賮賷 爻亘賷賱 丕賲鬲丕毓 丕賱賯乇丕亍
August 15, 2022
Both the original and the translation are just towering achievements. While the repetitive nature of each imposture made a straight-through reading a bit of a chore, the variety of form and playfulness throughout was incredibly modern (particularly for such an old text) and fun. The translation also does such a great job connecting the dots between Al-Hariri and the Oulipo movement, Chaucer, Swift, and so many others. I'm so glad to have been exposed to this, and how it challenged my notions of how modern fiction came to be.
June 1, 2015
兀噩丿 丕賱賲賯丕賲丕鬲 賮賳 噩賲賷賱 賵賮乇賷丿 乇睾賲 賲丕 丕毓鬲賲丕丿賴 毓賱賶 丕賱爻噩毓 廿賱丕 兀賳 賲丨鬲賵賶 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賲賮賷丿 賵賷囟賷賮 丕賱賲夭賷丿 賲賳 丕賱賲毓乇賮丞 賵丕賱毓亘乇
September 17, 2018
兀馗賳賴 兀丨丿 兀毓馗賲 賲丕 賰鬲亘 賲賳 兀丿亘 賮賶 賱睾丞 丕賱毓乇亘
亘丿兀鬲 賮賷賴 賲鬲丕亘毓丞 賱賲亘丕丿乇丞 廿丨賷丕亍 丕賱亘賷丕賳
賰丕賳 鬲噩乇亘丞 乇丕卅毓丞 貙貙毓乇賮鬲賳賶 亘賴匕丕 丕賱賰賳夭 丕賱毓馗賷賲
亘丿兀鬲 賮賷賴 賲鬲丕亘毓丞 賱賲亘丕丿乇丞 廿丨賷丕亍 丕賱亘賷丕賳
賰丕賳 鬲噩乇亘丞 乇丕卅毓丞 貙貙毓乇賮鬲賳賶 亘賴匕丕 丕賱賰賳夭 丕賱毓馗賷賲
June 8, 2019
賲賳 兀丨亘 丕賱賰鬲亘 廿賱賶 賯賱亘賷.
June 11, 2020
A heads up, the review is too long for GR. You can find the .
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I received a review copy from the publisher via Netgalley. Thank you for this unique opportunity!
As some might already know, my expertise is East Asian art history/history, museums and postcolonialism. I always strive to read beyond my expertise to gain new knowledge, learn about cultures and study unfamiliar topics because learning is important, a privilege and fun.
So, when I saw this book, I immediately had to download it.
The Impostures is an old collection of poems written by al-岣r墨r墨, an Arab poet who lived during the late 11th and early 12th century. The poems are called maqamatt and are a performance of poetic virtuosity where a speaker stands (or sits) in front of an audience and create an impromptu poem that plays with Arabic. The book begins by explaining what maqamatts are, tracing the ambiguous and contradicting meanings.
Maqamatt can be described as:
The meaning of the word Makamat is derived from "a place where one stands upright" and hence the place where one is at any time. Next it is used metonymically to denote "the persons assembled at any place" and finally, by another translation, "the discourses delivered or conversations held in any such assembly". This metaphorical use of the word Makamat has however been restricted to discourse and conversations like those narrated by Hariri and his predecessor Al Hamadani, which are composed in a highly finished style, and solely for the purpose of exhibiting specimens of various kinds of eloquence, and exemplifying rules of grammar, rhetoric and poetry. (The Assemblies of Al-Hariri: Fifty Encounters with the Shaykh Abu Zayd of Seruj, trans. by Amina Shah (London: Octagon, 1980), p. viii.)
After explaining the meaning of maqamatt and it鈥檚 cultural and socio-political context, the book goes on explaining al-岣r墨r墨鈥檚 biography, including his 鈥減redecessor鈥� Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadani (969鈥�1008), who supposedly invented the genre.
Al-岣r墨r墨鈥檚 Maqamatt is special because he writes the poems as a continuous story, telling the life and adventures of a linguistically skilled trickster, Abu Zayd from Saruj, from the perspective of a sort of friend. Abu Zayd dons various costumes and identities and is a beggar poet, something that is considered a lifestyle and genre in and of itself. And, as said before, even though Abu Zayd is the protagonist of the story, the poems are told from another perspective: al-Harith is telling the story and passing of the oratory and literary skills of Abu Zayd and, until the end, the narrator is tricked by Abu Zayd鈥檚 costumes.
What makes this so intriguing is not only the fact that Abu Zayd is shown to be a masterful literati able to create godlike (and I do mean in the religious and spiritual way as Arabic was seen as Allah鈥檚 language) poems but also in the fact that al-岣r墨r墨鈥檚 skills were so great and versatile that people found proof that he might have cheated himself. It is entirely possible that al-岣r墨r墨 stole some (or all) poems from an African traveller that visited the Middle East. Because the styles of the poems vary so greatly, it is entirely possible that al-岣r墨r墨 didn鈥檛 work alone on this project but there鈥檚 no real way of proving this over a millennia later. An he wouldn鈥檛 have confessed his theft or collaboration anyway so ultimately, it鈥檚 up to a multitude of interpretations.
Abu Zayd鈥檚 story ends interestingly: after having swindled, stolen, lied and tricked, he tries to perform one big show in a mosque, asking a gathering of faithfuls to pray for him while he confesses his misdeeds. And to the surprise of the narrator 鈥� and probably Abu Zayd himself 鈥� the prayers worked. His wandering life ends and he becomes an ascetic who only recites sermons and therefore uses Arabic as it is intended: to disperse God鈥檚 words. Leaving behind his life as a vagabond and trickster also means that he must stop using language for artistic purposes.
All of this is just in the foreword. After the acknowledgements comes the introduction, which talks about the al-Hamadhani鈥檚 and al-岣r墨r墨鈥檚 lives, the production of the Maqamatt (which can also be translated as 鈥淚mpostures鈥�, hence the title) and detailing the content and style of the poems, including Arabic and Western interpretation of the Maqamatt. I won鈥檛 repeat everything because it is A LOT of material and history but suffice to say that quite a lot of Westerners did see the linguistic virtuosity as decadent and unnecessary, that no true poet would need such silly tricks. This Orientalist and Eurocentric mindset is, of course, absolute horseshit (and I鈥檇 reckon to a large degree envy of not having the skills to use language in such a monumental way).
Instead of trying to explain what kind of linguistic tricks the Maqamat offers, I鈥檒l let the introduction takes this from my hands:
Most famously, al-岣r墨r墨 made a point of including examples of the kinds of trick writing that his predecessor had claimed to be able to produce. In Imposture 28, the roguish Ab奴 Zayd delivers a sermon in which every word consists entirely of undotted letters (excluding, that is, half the letters in the Arabic alphabet). In Imposture 6, he dictates a letter in which every second word contains only dotted letters and the remaining words only undotted ones. In Impostures 8, 35, 43, and 44, he composes a story or poem that seems to be about one thing but contains so many words with double meanings that it can be read as telling an equally coherent story about something else. In Imposture 16, he extemporizes several palindromes (sentences that read the same backward as forward). In Imposture 17, he delivers a sermon that can be read word by word from the end to produce an equally plausible speech. In 32, he produces ninety legal riddles, each based on a pun. And in Imposture 46, he trains schoolchildren to perform feats such as taking all the words that contain the rare letter 岷撃伿� and putting them into a poem. To some critics, manipulations like these have seemed an embarrassing waste of time, and evidence of the decadence of 鈥淥riental taste.鈥� 2 To my mind, however, they lie at the heart of al-岣r墨r墨鈥檚 enterprise.
You don鈥檛 have to know a lot about Arabic to see what artistry the maqamat represents. I read this passage and was already awed. Of course, the artistry is also 鈥渇aked鈥�, in a sense, since the actual maqamat would be a live performance but al-岣r墨r墨 doesn鈥檛 perform this live 鈥� in fact, the book tells one story where he failed a prompt from the audience so miserably that he escaped and months later produced these incredible written maqamat, which is one reason why people believe he might have stolen the poems 鈥� he writes them down and makes them perform 鈥渓ive鈥� within his story by Abu Zayd. There is a certain artificiality to this supposed live performance but I think that it doesn鈥檛 take away from the skills. Some things are just do difficult to come up on the spot and, as probably everybody knows, to be good and improvised speaking (poetry, speech or otherwise) requires immense training, dedication, practice and skill.
After the introductions comes a Note on the Translation which takes up several pages and鈥s really interesting to read. I also studied comparative literature so the process of translating, its theory and problems, is nothing new to me. In this section, the translator explains the history of Maqamat translations, explaining the age old question: do you translate faithfully word by word or do you translate faithfully by meaning and style? Poetry is particularly hard to translate because it rhymes, it has a rhythm, puns, word plays, palindromes and many other linguistic tricks and styles that can鈥檛 be translated 1:1. As a translator you are naturally restricted by the rules from the language you are translating to. You can鈥檛 just copy an idiom and call it a day.
The translator, Cooperson, recollects the history of European translations of the Maqamat, showing how some opted to translate the poems verbatim because they didn鈥檛 want to 鈥減ollute鈥� the poems and some because they only saw merit in the poems for its use to teach Arabic and not for its literary quality. In fact, some argued that the poems had no value, as mentioned above, because it was to ornamental, pompous, flowery, gaudy or whatever other negatively connoted adjective. Some actually only saw the usefulness of the text to study Arabic grammar and vocabulary.
Cooperson also talks about other translations and argues that those that took the most liberty and actually tried to copy the playfulness of the poems by departing in style and content were essentially the most faithful, successful and interesting. He particularly mentions the Russian translations by Anna Arkadievna Iskoz-Dolinina, Valentin Michaelovich Borisov and Valeria Kirpichenko, all published at different times but using Russian the best way possible to translate the style of the maqamat. He also says that German and Hebrew translations seem to have been the most successful because they were the most creative and those that stayed very close to the text 鈥� translating almost word by word and thus creative prose instead of poetry 鈥� were the least successful because they didn鈥檛 elicit the same reaction in readers.
Cooperson notes:
Minimally, this means translating the verse as verse , and finding equivalents for the puns, riddles, and palindromes. Admittedly, such equivalents rarely have the same lexical meaning as their originals. But the lexical meaning, in these cases, is not the point. In Imposture 16, for example , al-岣つ乺ith is amazed that Ab奴 Zayd can produce spontaneous palindromes; what they mean is barely relevant. That is why a translation like 鈥淲on ton? Not now!鈥� (搂16.5) works perfectly well even though the original says something else (which happens to be almost
equally nonsensical). Similarly, the alternation of dotted and undotted letters in 搂6.6 can be imitated by alternating words of French and words of Germanic origin. Fortunately, there are enough of both in English that the translation can say reasonably close to the lexical meaning of the original.
How indeed does one translate the Maqamat into English?
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The rest of the review can be found on my blog. Link is above.
-----------
I received a review copy from the publisher via Netgalley. Thank you for this unique opportunity!
As some might already know, my expertise is East Asian art history/history, museums and postcolonialism. I always strive to read beyond my expertise to gain new knowledge, learn about cultures and study unfamiliar topics because learning is important, a privilege and fun.
So, when I saw this book, I immediately had to download it.
The Impostures is an old collection of poems written by al-岣r墨r墨, an Arab poet who lived during the late 11th and early 12th century. The poems are called maqamatt and are a performance of poetic virtuosity where a speaker stands (or sits) in front of an audience and create an impromptu poem that plays with Arabic. The book begins by explaining what maqamatts are, tracing the ambiguous and contradicting meanings.
Maqamatt can be described as:
The meaning of the word Makamat is derived from "a place where one stands upright" and hence the place where one is at any time. Next it is used metonymically to denote "the persons assembled at any place" and finally, by another translation, "the discourses delivered or conversations held in any such assembly". This metaphorical use of the word Makamat has however been restricted to discourse and conversations like those narrated by Hariri and his predecessor Al Hamadani, which are composed in a highly finished style, and solely for the purpose of exhibiting specimens of various kinds of eloquence, and exemplifying rules of grammar, rhetoric and poetry. (The Assemblies of Al-Hariri: Fifty Encounters with the Shaykh Abu Zayd of Seruj, trans. by Amina Shah (London: Octagon, 1980), p. viii.)
After explaining the meaning of maqamatt and it鈥檚 cultural and socio-political context, the book goes on explaining al-岣r墨r墨鈥檚 biography, including his 鈥減redecessor鈥� Badi' al-Zaman al-Hamadani (969鈥�1008), who supposedly invented the genre.
Al-岣r墨r墨鈥檚 Maqamatt is special because he writes the poems as a continuous story, telling the life and adventures of a linguistically skilled trickster, Abu Zayd from Saruj, from the perspective of a sort of friend. Abu Zayd dons various costumes and identities and is a beggar poet, something that is considered a lifestyle and genre in and of itself. And, as said before, even though Abu Zayd is the protagonist of the story, the poems are told from another perspective: al-Harith is telling the story and passing of the oratory and literary skills of Abu Zayd and, until the end, the narrator is tricked by Abu Zayd鈥檚 costumes.
What makes this so intriguing is not only the fact that Abu Zayd is shown to be a masterful literati able to create godlike (and I do mean in the religious and spiritual way as Arabic was seen as Allah鈥檚 language) poems but also in the fact that al-岣r墨r墨鈥檚 skills were so great and versatile that people found proof that he might have cheated himself. It is entirely possible that al-岣r墨r墨 stole some (or all) poems from an African traveller that visited the Middle East. Because the styles of the poems vary so greatly, it is entirely possible that al-岣r墨r墨 didn鈥檛 work alone on this project but there鈥檚 no real way of proving this over a millennia later. An he wouldn鈥檛 have confessed his theft or collaboration anyway so ultimately, it鈥檚 up to a multitude of interpretations.
Abu Zayd鈥檚 story ends interestingly: after having swindled, stolen, lied and tricked, he tries to perform one big show in a mosque, asking a gathering of faithfuls to pray for him while he confesses his misdeeds. And to the surprise of the narrator 鈥� and probably Abu Zayd himself 鈥� the prayers worked. His wandering life ends and he becomes an ascetic who only recites sermons and therefore uses Arabic as it is intended: to disperse God鈥檚 words. Leaving behind his life as a vagabond and trickster also means that he must stop using language for artistic purposes.
All of this is just in the foreword. After the acknowledgements comes the introduction, which talks about the al-Hamadhani鈥檚 and al-岣r墨r墨鈥檚 lives, the production of the Maqamatt (which can also be translated as 鈥淚mpostures鈥�, hence the title) and detailing the content and style of the poems, including Arabic and Western interpretation of the Maqamatt. I won鈥檛 repeat everything because it is A LOT of material and history but suffice to say that quite a lot of Westerners did see the linguistic virtuosity as decadent and unnecessary, that no true poet would need such silly tricks. This Orientalist and Eurocentric mindset is, of course, absolute horseshit (and I鈥檇 reckon to a large degree envy of not having the skills to use language in such a monumental way).
Instead of trying to explain what kind of linguistic tricks the Maqamat offers, I鈥檒l let the introduction takes this from my hands:
Most famously, al-岣r墨r墨 made a point of including examples of the kinds of trick writing that his predecessor had claimed to be able to produce. In Imposture 28, the roguish Ab奴 Zayd delivers a sermon in which every word consists entirely of undotted letters (excluding, that is, half the letters in the Arabic alphabet). In Imposture 6, he dictates a letter in which every second word contains only dotted letters and the remaining words only undotted ones. In Impostures 8, 35, 43, and 44, he composes a story or poem that seems to be about one thing but contains so many words with double meanings that it can be read as telling an equally coherent story about something else. In Imposture 16, he extemporizes several palindromes (sentences that read the same backward as forward). In Imposture 17, he delivers a sermon that can be read word by word from the end to produce an equally plausible speech. In 32, he produces ninety legal riddles, each based on a pun. And in Imposture 46, he trains schoolchildren to perform feats such as taking all the words that contain the rare letter 岷撃伿� and putting them into a poem. To some critics, manipulations like these have seemed an embarrassing waste of time, and evidence of the decadence of 鈥淥riental taste.鈥� 2 To my mind, however, they lie at the heart of al-岣r墨r墨鈥檚 enterprise.
You don鈥檛 have to know a lot about Arabic to see what artistry the maqamat represents. I read this passage and was already awed. Of course, the artistry is also 鈥渇aked鈥�, in a sense, since the actual maqamat would be a live performance but al-岣r墨r墨 doesn鈥檛 perform this live 鈥� in fact, the book tells one story where he failed a prompt from the audience so miserably that he escaped and months later produced these incredible written maqamat, which is one reason why people believe he might have stolen the poems 鈥� he writes them down and makes them perform 鈥渓ive鈥� within his story by Abu Zayd. There is a certain artificiality to this supposed live performance but I think that it doesn鈥檛 take away from the skills. Some things are just do difficult to come up on the spot and, as probably everybody knows, to be good and improvised speaking (poetry, speech or otherwise) requires immense training, dedication, practice and skill.
After the introductions comes a Note on the Translation which takes up several pages and鈥s really interesting to read. I also studied comparative literature so the process of translating, its theory and problems, is nothing new to me. In this section, the translator explains the history of Maqamat translations, explaining the age old question: do you translate faithfully word by word or do you translate faithfully by meaning and style? Poetry is particularly hard to translate because it rhymes, it has a rhythm, puns, word plays, palindromes and many other linguistic tricks and styles that can鈥檛 be translated 1:1. As a translator you are naturally restricted by the rules from the language you are translating to. You can鈥檛 just copy an idiom and call it a day.
The translator, Cooperson, recollects the history of European translations of the Maqamat, showing how some opted to translate the poems verbatim because they didn鈥檛 want to 鈥減ollute鈥� the poems and some because they only saw merit in the poems for its use to teach Arabic and not for its literary quality. In fact, some argued that the poems had no value, as mentioned above, because it was to ornamental, pompous, flowery, gaudy or whatever other negatively connoted adjective. Some actually only saw the usefulness of the text to study Arabic grammar and vocabulary.
Cooperson also talks about other translations and argues that those that took the most liberty and actually tried to copy the playfulness of the poems by departing in style and content were essentially the most faithful, successful and interesting. He particularly mentions the Russian translations by Anna Arkadievna Iskoz-Dolinina, Valentin Michaelovich Borisov and Valeria Kirpichenko, all published at different times but using Russian the best way possible to translate the style of the maqamat. He also says that German and Hebrew translations seem to have been the most successful because they were the most creative and those that stayed very close to the text 鈥� translating almost word by word and thus creative prose instead of poetry 鈥� were the least successful because they didn鈥檛 elicit the same reaction in readers.
Cooperson notes:
Minimally, this means translating the verse as verse , and finding equivalents for the puns, riddles, and palindromes. Admittedly, such equivalents rarely have the same lexical meaning as their originals. But the lexical meaning, in these cases, is not the point. In Imposture 16, for example , al-岣つ乺ith is amazed that Ab奴 Zayd can produce spontaneous palindromes; what they mean is barely relevant. That is why a translation like 鈥淲on ton? Not now!鈥� (搂16.5) works perfectly well even though the original says something else (which happens to be almost
equally nonsensical). Similarly, the alternation of dotted and undotted letters in 搂6.6 can be imitated by alternating words of French and words of Germanic origin. Fortunately, there are enough of both in English that the translation can say reasonably close to the lexical meaning of the original.
How indeed does one translate the Maqamat into English?
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The rest of the review can be found on my blog. Link is above.
May 11, 2020
* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. *
Impostures is based on the Maqamat written by the Basran poet al-Hariri in the 11th Century. The book is a series of 50 anecdotes about a wandering conman called Abu Zayd, who ekes out a living through cunning and his mastery of language.
The stories are a bit formulaic and repetitive, but that is not the point. What this is about is the word games that Abu Zayd plays, and the cleverness of the prose. For example, in the original Arabic, there is a palindrome that occupies an entire paragraph, a letter that can be read forwards or backwards, and verse where the words alternate between having dots in them and not having dots.
This wordplay presents great challenges to a translator, and Cooperson really delivers a masterclass in translation and adaptation. Each story is rendered in a different English narrative style, depending on the subject matter. We get Chaucer, Dickens, Wodehouse, Twain, Defoe, Doyle, Fielding, Boswell and copious other writers used as models for translation, and also translations using Singlish, Spanglish and Strine, as well as slang used by '20s era diners and Western cowboys. Cooperson also solves the challenges of things like the dots and no-dots by posing similar challenges in English.
This is a book to dip into rather than read right through, as there is no real plot thread running through the 50 impostures. Fans of riddles, wordplay and slang should find plenty to enjoy here.
Impostures is based on the Maqamat written by the Basran poet al-Hariri in the 11th Century. The book is a series of 50 anecdotes about a wandering conman called Abu Zayd, who ekes out a living through cunning and his mastery of language.
The stories are a bit formulaic and repetitive, but that is not the point. What this is about is the word games that Abu Zayd plays, and the cleverness of the prose. For example, in the original Arabic, there is a palindrome that occupies an entire paragraph, a letter that can be read forwards or backwards, and verse where the words alternate between having dots in them and not having dots.
This wordplay presents great challenges to a translator, and Cooperson really delivers a masterclass in translation and adaptation. Each story is rendered in a different English narrative style, depending on the subject matter. We get Chaucer, Dickens, Wodehouse, Twain, Defoe, Doyle, Fielding, Boswell and copious other writers used as models for translation, and also translations using Singlish, Spanglish and Strine, as well as slang used by '20s era diners and Western cowboys. Cooperson also solves the challenges of things like the dots and no-dots by posing similar challenges in English.
This is a book to dip into rather than read right through, as there is no real plot thread running through the 50 impostures. Fans of riddles, wordplay and slang should find plenty to enjoy here.
July 6, 2020
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This is available for purchase now.
When I read the description of Impostures, I immediately thought of a comedic play and I think that colored my expectations a little. It was far from what I expected, and I feel very lucky to have read this enthralling book.
One of the fascinating things about this book is the number of styles translator Michael Cooperson uses: from Shakespeare to Twain, and everything in between. It was so very cool! I don鈥檛 know anything about the original text, aside from what is spoken of in the introduction, so I don鈥檛 know how closely Cooperson stuck to the original, but I could tell he put a lot of effort into keeping the spirit of it, so to speak.
It did take me a while to get through this book. It鈥檚 what I call a 鈥渟mart read,鈥� meaning it was difficult for me to focus on it during the noisy parts of my day (I have a toddler tornado). Much of what made this an intriguing read was the brilliant way language was used throughout.
Readers who like the feel of language as much as the dialogue in a story will like this book. There鈥檚 something about it that feels very special. I鈥檓 struggling to put what I mean into words, but it鈥檚 more than just a collection of stories. It鈥檚 incredibly unique and I wish I could have read this with other (smarter-than-me) people, just to have the opportunity to discuss its nuances.
This is one of those books that I鈥檓 glad I read, but will probably not read again. Some books are like that. I fully enjoyed it, and recommend it to anyone who likes to stretch their reading muscles and try something different.
When I read the description of Impostures, I immediately thought of a comedic play and I think that colored my expectations a little. It was far from what I expected, and I feel very lucky to have read this enthralling book.
One of the fascinating things about this book is the number of styles translator Michael Cooperson uses: from Shakespeare to Twain, and everything in between. It was so very cool! I don鈥檛 know anything about the original text, aside from what is spoken of in the introduction, so I don鈥檛 know how closely Cooperson stuck to the original, but I could tell he put a lot of effort into keeping the spirit of it, so to speak.
It did take me a while to get through this book. It鈥檚 what I call a 鈥渟mart read,鈥� meaning it was difficult for me to focus on it during the noisy parts of my day (I have a toddler tornado). Much of what made this an intriguing read was the brilliant way language was used throughout.
Readers who like the feel of language as much as the dialogue in a story will like this book. There鈥檚 something about it that feels very special. I鈥檓 struggling to put what I mean into words, but it鈥檚 more than just a collection of stories. It鈥檚 incredibly unique and I wish I could have read this with other (smarter-than-me) people, just to have the opportunity to discuss its nuances.
This is one of those books that I鈥檓 glad I read, but will probably not read again. Some books are like that. I fully enjoyed it, and recommend it to anyone who likes to stretch their reading muscles and try something different.
October 13, 2024
my professor kindly told me to read this book because the translator was his classmate. i should become an academic because i'm desperate to know as many important people as possible. it inflates my ego. this book is unbearably clever, but at the same time, it's a genuinely very fun reading experience, which is arguably more impressive. i was reading some of it in my university library, and every new chapter (each chapter imitated a certain english dialect or author or style), i would find a book by the author it was imitating and read a little bit of it. i cannot recommend a better way to read a book. it felt so interdisciplinary. really bringing the reading experience into real life.
when i brought the last medieval arabic book i was reading (the epistle of forgiveness, i didn't finish it) to my professor, he was so infatuated by the library plastic. the guy just loves library plastic. i think we should all try to find mundane things to be delighted by.
when i brought the last medieval arabic book i was reading (the epistle of forgiveness, i didn't finish it) to my professor, he was so infatuated by the library plastic. the guy just loves library plastic. i think we should all try to find mundane things to be delighted by.
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