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Classical Poems by Arab Women: A Bilingual Anthology
Arab women poets have been around since the earliest of times, yet their diwans (collected poems) were not given the same consideration as their male counterparts’.
Spanning 5,000 years, from the pre-Islamic to the Andalusian periods, Classical Poems by Arab Women presents rarely seen work by over fifty women writers for the first time. From the sorrowful eulogies of Khansa to the gleeful scorn of Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, this collection exclusively features the work of Arab women who boldly refused to be silenced. The poems are excursions into their vibrant world whose humanity has been suppressed for centuries by religious and political bigotry.
With poems in both English and Arabic, this remarkable anthology celebrates feminine wit and desire, and shows the significant contribution Arab women made to the literary tradition.
Spanning 5,000 years, from the pre-Islamic to the Andalusian periods, Classical Poems by Arab Women presents rarely seen work by over fifty women writers for the first time. From the sorrowful eulogies of Khansa to the gleeful scorn of Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, this collection exclusively features the work of Arab women who boldly refused to be silenced. The poems are excursions into their vibrant world whose humanity has been suppressed for centuries by religious and political bigotry.
With poems in both English and Arabic, this remarkable anthology celebrates feminine wit and desire, and shows the significant contribution Arab women made to the literary tradition.
255 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
April 17, 2022
Wow, what a disappointment. It's really hard to find classical Arabian poetry in translation, so I thought, "Finally, something to look over."
Unfortunately, the information the author gives shows a Sunni bias (page 18). He says: "The socalled fourth caliph, Ali. . .was not a fully confirmed caliph... These are fighting words in the Islamic world and I wish the author had kept his opinions out of the text so it would be available to all with a tolerance one might find during the period of Harun al-Rashid.
More disappointing are the English translations themselves. You'll notice in the quote I've taken from page 18 so called is written as socalled. This is not an error in transcription. The book is riddled with strange words and phrases. Here's are lines from the poet Juml on page 136:
1.
Juml, if you had been a good Muslim, Allah wouldn't have lumbered you with
a youthless pile like Idris, whose spenturge is time's worst joke on you.
3.
The unmentionable you desire is now dropless at all times.
What is lumbered or spenturge? What does the phrase "dropless at all times" mean?
These are very serious translation problems.
Occasionally there a decent few lines, but too often the English is marred. I've no doubt about the translators understanding of Arabic, but a translation in English must be able to reach an English-speaking reader. The author would have been much better served by taking his obvious expertise in Arabic and working with a native speaker. The jarring misunderstandings of English grammar and vocabulary could have then been avoided. There's interesting information in this text about the lives of these poets and an occasional jewel-like image, but it's a good deal of work for little reward.
Unfortunately, the information the author gives shows a Sunni bias (page 18). He says: "The socalled fourth caliph, Ali. . .was not a fully confirmed caliph... These are fighting words in the Islamic world and I wish the author had kept his opinions out of the text so it would be available to all with a tolerance one might find during the period of Harun al-Rashid.
More disappointing are the English translations themselves. You'll notice in the quote I've taken from page 18 so called is written as socalled. This is not an error in transcription. The book is riddled with strange words and phrases. Here's are lines from the poet Juml on page 136:
1.
Juml, if you had been a good Muslim, Allah wouldn't have lumbered you with
a youthless pile like Idris, whose spenturge is time's worst joke on you.
3.
The unmentionable you desire is now dropless at all times.
What is lumbered or spenturge? What does the phrase "dropless at all times" mean?
These are very serious translation problems.
Occasionally there a decent few lines, but too often the English is marred. I've no doubt about the translators understanding of Arabic, but a translation in English must be able to reach an English-speaking reader. The author would have been much better served by taking his obvious expertise in Arabic and working with a native speaker. The jarring misunderstandings of English grammar and vocabulary could have then been avoided. There's interesting information in this text about the lives of these poets and an occasional jewel-like image, but it's a good deal of work for little reward.
December 27, 2016
I am glad that such a book exists.
However, it is horrible. The English version of the poems is nothing but a basic translation that turned each Arabic word into English. No attempt was made to recreate the poem in English. Also, there seem to be several made-up words, and countless more words that were stuck together when they should have been left separate or at least hyphenated.
I must also add that there is more biography/explanation of the poems than there are poems.
However, it is horrible. The English version of the poems is nothing but a basic translation that turned each Arabic word into English. No attempt was made to recreate the poem in English. Also, there seem to be several made-up words, and countless more words that were stuck together when they should have been left separate or at least hyphenated.
I must also add that there is more biography/explanation of the poems than there are poems.
December 20, 2025
One Word: DISAPPOINTING.
I have been meaning to read this for years to only find it that freaking disappointing!
The translator is highly partial and subjective. Out of nowhere he calls Ali "the so-called fourth caliph," really?? And seriously saying that the right angel writes down what the right hand does and the left angel writes down what the left hand does is a level of knowledge only a primary school kid possesses. And the translations, OH MY GOD the translations, and I'm saying this as an Arabic-speaking person and a translator myself, detract A LOT from the original, with repetitive misunderstandings and even made up words. Reading them felt as if the translator read the verses, paraphrased them then went on to translate his own paraphrases. And for the love of God, has the book gone through any kind of editing?! For there has been tons of cases where words are connected when they shouldn't be.
I have been meaning to read this for years to only find it that freaking disappointing!
The translator is highly partial and subjective. Out of nowhere he calls Ali "the so-called fourth caliph," really?? And seriously saying that the right angel writes down what the right hand does and the left angel writes down what the left hand does is a level of knowledge only a primary school kid possesses. And the translations, OH MY GOD the translations, and I'm saying this as an Arabic-speaking person and a translator myself, detract A LOT from the original, with repetitive misunderstandings and even made up words. Reading them felt as if the translator read the verses, paraphrased them then went on to translate his own paraphrases. And for the love of God, has the book gone through any kind of editing?! For there has been tons of cases where words are connected when they shouldn't be.
June 22, 2024
These poems are full with emotion and dripping with life. I felt drawn in every now and then, and more than one poem made me blush about the way that some of these women describe their lovers.
I also had fun with the fact that it’s a bilingual edition, and I tried my best to read the Arabic version along with the English despite my grade school level comprehension.
I also had fun with the fact that it’s a bilingual edition, and I tried my best to read the Arabic version along with the English despite my grade school level comprehension.
October 12, 2024
فكرة الكتاب جدا جميلة، بس دفعت نفسي خلال الاشهر السابقه أن انهيه . صراحه كان ممكن يكون افصل بس تجربه ممتعه في قراءة الشعر العربي القديم
March 3, 2022
The poems are nice to read however the introduction and some of the intros about the poets display a clear bias the author has. Rather than just providing poems, context and background the author infuses their beliefs and for audiences not familiar with the nuances with these historical eras, it can come across as facts- which I find problematic. Some of the translations are a bit strange as mentioned in other reviews. When looking at other anthologies of arabic poetry (ex Radical Love) the poems read naturally, but in this while being able to read the Arabic side by side the English doesn't carry the same meaning or tries to connect with the modern reader in strange ways that don't feel authentic (ex the author uses the words "sugar daddy" in the translated version).
February 27, 2023
The poems themselves were so beautiful but I think the English translation no where near did them justice. A lot of thing were lost in translation but that is to be expected as Arabic is such a poetic language. Nothing would compare to the metaphors and use of wordplay in Arabic. I quite enjoyed it nonetheless
August 31, 2024
Thanks to the editor for doing the work of collecting the poems and providing some background info about the poets. That’s all we can thank him for. The translations, on the other hand, are TERRIBLE. Plagued with grammatical and spelling errors and juvenile word choice. Reader Beware. ⚠️
The Arabic poems are incredibly rich in meaning and emotion. Many a time I put this book aside to sob or ponder. Such a shame that the translations are inaccessible for the English speaker. There’s much beauty and sensuality behind the language barrier.
Uh, if only El-Manfalouty or Gibran embarked on this journey… or perhaps a poetess? 👀
The Arabic poems are incredibly rich in meaning and emotion. Many a time I put this book aside to sob or ponder. Such a shame that the translations are inaccessible for the English speaker. There’s much beauty and sensuality behind the language barrier.
Uh, if only El-Manfalouty or Gibran embarked on this journey… or perhaps a poetess? 👀
December 5, 2021
It’s was remarkable to come across a comprehensive anthology solely focused on works by Arab women. Very insightful in terms of poets’ background and context. Wholesome and unconventional.
January 1, 2023
I finished this anthology in one sitting; though the collection is that gripping, I cannot say that the translation is up to standard. It felt like the translator did not even try at times (Page 168 "Listen to me, sugar daddy: "You can't take a girl for a ride." Seriously?)
I wish that at least some of the information was cited because it felt suspect (as other reviews mention, especially at the beginning).
There was no consistency in how the poems in Arabic were written (some had Harakat and some did not; some with unexplained spelling mistakes like on page 105).
I wish some of the poems were longer and they easily could've been--the pages sometimes had two-three lines of a poem when the original poem was much longer).
However, it was still informative of many Arab poets who I would've had to dig to find some information on. The selected information on the poets that I did know about did puzzle me however, like Wallada being boiled down to having unsuccessful love affair with Ibn Zaidun. All of which makes me question the credibility of what's written in here.
Overall, it left much to be desired.
I wish that at least some of the information was cited because it felt suspect (as other reviews mention, especially at the beginning).
There was no consistency in how the poems in Arabic were written (some had Harakat and some did not; some with unexplained spelling mistakes like on page 105).
I wish some of the poems were longer and they easily could've been--the pages sometimes had two-three lines of a poem when the original poem was much longer).
However, it was still informative of many Arab poets who I would've had to dig to find some information on. The selected information on the poets that I did know about did puzzle me however, like Wallada being boiled down to having unsuccessful love affair with Ibn Zaidun. All of which makes me question the credibility of what's written in here.
Overall, it left much to be desired.
Read
August 8, 2016the translations need so much work.
May 19, 2023
I was shooketh by the expression of desire in eras that echo with « closed off »
December 31, 2023
I got this book in June 2023 in a very hip bookstore in Montréal in the hopes that I might use it to find some readings for my world literature class in the fall. Did I find such readings? Not so much, but it certainly gave me a lot of female authors to look up. The introduction was helpful for contextualizing several of the authors and laying out a clear goal for the anthology: i.e., including women’s work as the core of the text, rather than just throwing in one or two token female authors without really engaging with their contribution to the Arabic literary tradition. Of course, I am almost wholly ignorant of women’s contribution to the Arabic literary tradition aside from a couple of classes from undergrad, since I work primarily with western European medieval literature, so I was quite excited to read poems by women authors.
In addition to contextualizing the anthology, al-Udhari’s introduction also included some rather frank statements like “Umayyad and Abbasid men were not stuck up about their womenfolk’s sexual needs” or “The veiling and walling of the women pleased Arab rulers as it neutralized half of Arab society and made it easier for them to sheep the other, male half.” I wish he had also included some citations at the end of the intro, because I’m frankly in no position to judge the accuracy of these statements or, for that matter, the accuracy of the translations. The poems themselves were a really interesting mix of very rich love poetry, religious poetry, lament, and really angry poetry with lines like “Get up and pull the spears out of your brother’s corpse, for no one defies us and gets away with it (Umama bint Kulaib, pg. 42), “Leave me alone, you’re not my equal, you’re not a man of the world nor a man of faith, yet you want to own me, you mindless twit” (Umm Ja’far bint Ali, pg. 138), or “If I had to choose a mate, why should I say yes to a dog when I’m deaf to lions?” (Aa’isha bint Ahmad al- Qurtubiyya, pg. 160). Love me some angry premodern poetry. I was already vaguely familiar with the poetry of Wallada bint al-Mustakfi and Ulayya bint al-Mahdi, so it was great to read more of their work.
As others have noted, the explanatory apparatus is very limited, so I don’t know that I’d call it a particularly academic volume. On a technical note, there are some typos in the printing as well as some weird spacing issues (i.e., smaller-than-normal spaces between words that make it look like the whole line is a single word). It has facing page Arabic and English, so if you read Arabic or are in the process of learning it, it might be a good volume for checking your understanding or the quality of the translations—for me, I just know the alphabet, so I was excited when I could identify people’s names in the poems. Overall, I thought it was an enjoyable read. It might not be a good text for someone who’s already expert in classical Arabic poetry, but if you (like me) are a novice looking for a flavor of what poetry from this era is like or the names of more premodern women writers to look up, I think this would be a good introductory volume.
In addition to contextualizing the anthology, al-Udhari’s introduction also included some rather frank statements like “Umayyad and Abbasid men were not stuck up about their womenfolk’s sexual needs” or “The veiling and walling of the women pleased Arab rulers as it neutralized half of Arab society and made it easier for them to sheep the other, male half.” I wish he had also included some citations at the end of the intro, because I’m frankly in no position to judge the accuracy of these statements or, for that matter, the accuracy of the translations. The poems themselves were a really interesting mix of very rich love poetry, religious poetry, lament, and really angry poetry with lines like “Get up and pull the spears out of your brother’s corpse, for no one defies us and gets away with it (Umama bint Kulaib, pg. 42), “Leave me alone, you’re not my equal, you’re not a man of the world nor a man of faith, yet you want to own me, you mindless twit” (Umm Ja’far bint Ali, pg. 138), or “If I had to choose a mate, why should I say yes to a dog when I’m deaf to lions?” (Aa’isha bint Ahmad al- Qurtubiyya, pg. 160). Love me some angry premodern poetry. I was already vaguely familiar with the poetry of Wallada bint al-Mustakfi and Ulayya bint al-Mahdi, so it was great to read more of their work.
As others have noted, the explanatory apparatus is very limited, so I don’t know that I’d call it a particularly academic volume. On a technical note, there are some typos in the printing as well as some weird spacing issues (i.e., smaller-than-normal spaces between words that make it look like the whole line is a single word). It has facing page Arabic and English, so if you read Arabic or are in the process of learning it, it might be a good volume for checking your understanding or the quality of the translations—for me, I just know the alphabet, so I was excited when I could identify people’s names in the poems. Overall, I thought it was an enjoyable read. It might not be a good text for someone who’s already expert in classical Arabic poetry, but if you (like me) are a novice looking for a flavor of what poetry from this era is like or the names of more premodern women writers to look up, I think this would be a good introductory volume.
August 15, 2022
Overall, this was a neat selection of the classical poetry of Arab women. I read some incredible verses here—witty, beautiful, sensual. However, I have two complaints. 1- I agree with the majority of bilingual speakers on here, some of the translations were off and sometimes even off-putting, and didn’t make any sense. 2- Because there were a lot of allusions in the poems to myth, legend, and religion, and because the historical information provided (background about the poets and other personals) is itself muddled with myth, i would have really really appreciated the addition of sources —in the form of footnotes or an appendix or something— from which the editor has gotten his information and to which the reader could refer.
3.5 stars.
3.5 stars.
August 19, 2025
I started this so long ago and couldn’t bother picking it up again and finishing it; it was that tedious. I was hoping to read the original poems plus its translation so that I could ponder upon the meaning while also admiring the complexity of the Arabic language. But this was more history—that too, biased—than poems itself. The translations were half-assed with no nuance or retaining of the original cadence. Technically, it’s a briefing of the backdrop of the poems and the background of the poetesses in detail, with the poems sprinkled in for reference—instead of the other way round. All in all, quite misleading.
March 1, 2025
Haven’t looked around much for collections of Classical Arabic poetry but this seemed like a good starting point since the English translation (simple as it is) helps you pick up on some words/idioms you might not be familiar with. The history sections feel like they have some orientalist/white-feminist undertones sometimes but they still offer a good timeline of the progression/evolution of Arab women poetry. I feel like you have to be bilingual to get the most out of this book.
July 25, 2025
If you’re an English speaking person who wishes to read some Arabic poems or if you would like to just read the translation in Arabic, do NOT read this. The English translation is horribly inaccurate and many poems had some bits that were not even translated ( probably better off then being horribly translated ). A wonderful experience it is to read Arabic poetry, but this translation has done it disgrace.
Plus, I think the author has mistook a letter for a poem and included it in this book.
Plus, I think the author has mistook a letter for a poem and included it in this book.
May 5, 2024
Riddled with atrocious errors of translation and grammar alike— misrepresentations of the original Arabic, and plenty of generalized nonsense whenever he doesn’t understand an archaic turn of phrase. Very disappointing; was so excited to read. The most use this book can provide is a small and silly service as a sort of yellow pages for beginners.
November 26, 2025
I was disappointed by the poems being two lines each, just short two line verses. Very few with beautiful jewel like images like another poster said. I bought this purely to read the biographies of all the different Arab women poets, more than sixty women featured so worth it to me. The biographies are interesting and good, the poems just ridiculously short and not great.
February 20, 2022
read for my Arabic and Persian Literature module
mayhaps I am sappy
mayhaps I am biased
mayhaps I am stupid and cannot read poetry and/or Arabic
but this stuff slapped
I think I'll be going back to this quite a bit
ok that's it
mayhaps I am sappy
mayhaps I am biased
mayhaps I am stupid and cannot read poetry and/or Arabic
but this stuff slapped
I think I'll be going back to this quite a bit
ok that's it
May 30, 2025
Some are good but mostly a collection of women's observations, sometimes nothing more than a sentence translated into English of "I miss you". Unfortunatly I do not (yet) read Arabic so I think a lot of it got lost in translation, the deeper meaning of it all...
February 19, 2019
loved being able to read the arabic and english side by side, and see all the amazing work Arab women have been doing throughout history
Read
June 20, 2019sexy! and fierce
July 9, 2019
i liked it
April 13, 2020
(As translated)
I am killer and the killed.
I held back my love’s name and kept on repeating it to myself.
So pearls are useless unless they’re pierced and threaded.
I am killer and the killed.
I held back my love’s name and kept on repeating it to myself.
So pearls are useless unless they’re pierced and threaded.
December 17, 2020
A lovely introduction to the world of Arabic poetry
April 9, 2022
Pretty interesting collection of poems plus nice historical context on a lot of the authors.
June 1, 2022
3.5*
August 5, 2023
Enjoyed it but the translation wasnt a 100% accurate
November 7, 2024
The translation was really bad
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews