Desert Air

by Barnaby Rogerson

A pocket-sized collection of all the favorite verses that have inspired desert travelers. From Coleridge's Kubla Khan to Shelley's Ozymandias, through James Elroy Flecker, Byron, Longfellow and Heine. Also includes the great originals such as the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám and the Seven Golden Odes of Pagan Arabia.

Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Barnaby Rogerson (1960-) is a British author, television presenter and publisher. He has written extensively about the Muslim world, including a biography of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and numerous travel guides. Rogerson was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, and studied Medieval History at St Andrews University

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been collecting Eland books for a while now and as well as the ones that I have bought I am fortunate that they are generous enough to send me some of their latest releases too. I thought that I would pass on the poetry collections, partly as I haven’t finished collecting the other classics, but also, you know, bookshelf space… This arrived in a Christmas card from Eland at Christmas and having now read it I think that I am going to had to get some more to keep it company.

This is a nice little collection of poems centred on the deserts of Arabia and is split into two sections. The first section is the more familiar poems and verse from English poets and the second half draws from lesser-known Arabic poetry. Some of these are well known, Kubla Khan and The Song of Solomon and there are others that I have never come across before.

It is an interesting collection and as ever there were some poems that I liked a lot and there were others that I was less keen on. I did feel that some of the Arabic poems were songs that have been in poetic form and were less formal than the prose written by the Western writers. What I did find really helpful was that after each poem there is a brief resume of the writer which filled out the background nicely. It is a great little collection of poems.

Three Favourite Poems
To The Nile
Travel
Lament For The Desert

[Roisin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is part of a series of small, wonderful, portable books on poetry with themes from 'Eland Books'. This one, features a range of writers, Arab (pre-Islamic and Islamic) Muhabba, Rumi, King Qabus, and European, featuring Shelley (and the famous , 'Ozymandias'), Pushkin, Baudelaire, for example, writing about the romance, realities, tales and inspirations of the desert. A beautiful little book. After each poem, there is information about the poets/writers and information about some of the poems too. Sheer delight!