United Arab Emirates / All works
Poetry
ديوان الماجدي بن ظاهر
Not translated into English
al-Majidi ibn Zahir · 1650
Synopsis
The poems that tradition attributes to the poet, in Nabati language mixed with classical Arabic. In them he speaks of palm trees and dates, of places on the coast and in the hinterland, of rain, the sea and the desert; he praises tribal chiefs and men of religion, sings of love and wisdom, and reports events of the region, such as the flood of Al-Mu'ayrid. Anecdotes accompany the verses and make him a man of wit, quick at repartee.
Context
The verses were transmitted orally, by elderly reciters, and many manuscripts are held in the National Library of Abu Dhabi. The poet Hamad Abu Shihab gathered the work in a book on his life and poems, which the Abu Dhabi Poetry Academy reissued in 2016; Faleh Hanzel devoted a study to him in 1992, published by the Emirates Writers Union. Several birthplaces are attributed to him, including the village of Al-Daid, and tradition says he is buried at Al-Kharan.
Who it is for
Poems in the spoken language of the Gulf, difficult for a reader of classical Arabic; no translation has been found.
Prizes and reception
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid hailed him as the greatest poet of the region in his time, and Emirati poets take him as a model.
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