A Portal to Another World: Translating Early Arabic Poetry — With James Montgomery and Lydia Wilson

The Lede

Early Arabic hunting poetry showcases a fascinating overlap between the pre-Islamic world, which was dominated by the concepts of fate and time, and the post-Islamic world, in which the standout theme was an omniscient or omnipotent god. “The wise thing about the poetry is it doesn’t seek to reconcile the two, it allows both to coexist,” says Montgomery, Sir Thomas Adams's professor of Arabic at the University of Cambridge, who joins New Lines Culture Editor Lydia Wilson on The Lede.

Montgomery tells Wilson how poetry is a portal to the pre- and early Islamic worlds, and how, after struggling with one set of translations for over 20 years, inspiration came from an unlikely source: YouTube.

Further reading: The Seven Hanging Odes of Mecca

Produced by Finbar Anderson and Joshua Martin

For more information go to newlinesmag.com/podcast