Question?

[arabian dream]

Did any member from this forum read Arabian literature? And if somebody read any thing from Arab world literature would he or she sharing his knowledge in Arabian literature.

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[stlukesguild]

Undoubtedly (and unfortunately) like a great deal of Westerners well-versed in the literature of Europe, the Americas... and lately Asia, Arabic literature remains largely a mystery. I'm embarassed to admit that beyond a few selections I have read very little of the Qu'ran. I have read a great deal of the Arabian Nights, a reasonable selection of poetry by Hafiz, Rumi and Omar Khayyam. I have Attar's "Conference of Birds" (which I have yet to read) and have been looking for some time for the works by Firdausi (among others) but with little luck. Outside of this, I have some favorite tranlations of Arabic poetry by Goethe and Emerson, and must admit to an absolute love of Cola Franzen's translation of the "Poems of Arabandalucia", which were a major inspiration for Lorca. Undoubtedly, I am confusing Arabic, Persian and Moorish literature, but as I admitted my experience with Arabic lit is rather limitted (I actually know quite a bit more about the visual arts) and I might make some semblance of a defence by noting that truly well made translations of Arabic literature into English are rare.