A rich anthology of pre-Islamic and early Islamic poetry on the beauties and perils of the hunt
In the poems of Fate the Hunter, many of them translated into English for the first time, trained cheetahs chase oryx, and goshawks glare from falconers鈥� arms, while archers stalk their prey across the desert plains and mountain ravines of the Arabian peninsula. With this collection, James E. Montgomery, acclaimed translator of War Songs by 士Antarah ibn Shadd膩d, offers a new edition and translation of twenty-six early works of hunting poetry, or 峁璦谤诲颈测测腻迟. Included here are poems by pre-Islamic poets such as Imru示 al-Qays and al-Shanfar膩, as well as poets from the Umayyad era such as al-Shamardal ibn Shar墨k. The volume concludes with the earliest extant epistle about hunting, written by 士Abd al-岣m墨d al-K膩tib, a master of Arabic prose.
Through the eyes of the poet, the hunter鈥檚 pursuit of the quarry mirrors Fate鈥檚 pursuit of both humans and nonhumans and highlights the ambiguity of the encounter. With breathtaking descriptions of falcons, gazelles, and saluki gazehounds, the poems in Fate the Hunter capture the drama and tension of the hunt while offering meditations on Fate, mortality, and death.
An English-only edition.
