Fate the Hunter - (Library of Arabic Literature) by James E Montgomery (Hardcover)

About the Book

"An anthology of Arabic hunting poetry from the pre-Islamic and early Islamic eras"--

Book Synopsis

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' 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 ʿAntarah ibn Shaddād, offers a new edition and translation of twenty-six early works of hunting poetry, or ṭardiyyāt. Included here are poems by pre-Islamic poets such as Imruʾ al-Qays and al-Shanfarā, as well as poets from the Umayyad era such as al-Shamardal ibn Sharīk. The volume concludes with the earliest extant epistle about hunting, written by ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Kātib, a master of Arabic prose.

Through the eyes of the poet, the hunter's pursuit of the quarry mirrors Fate's 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.

A bilingual Arabic-English edition.

Review Quotes

"Montgomery does not pretend to tell the history of the genre but rather presents poems that show the so-called hunting complex... Several of these he has rebuilt from scattered sources, a feat praiseworthy in itself. The translations have the virtue of being accurate and readable while showcasing Montgomery's deep knowledge of Arabian flora and fauna, though not without taking some liberties for easy reading."-- "Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies"

"This Arabic hunting poem is ideal for a grey day, recharging me with what Beckett calls 'the pitiless light of that which hope hides'. It's a list of animal deaths laid out like offerings before the death of a human. [About "The Workings of Fate," by Sakhr Al-Ghayy, in Fate the Hunter]"--Alice Oswald "The Guardian"

About the Author

James E. Montgomery is Sir Thomas Adams's Professor of Arabic at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Trinity Hall. His three most recent books of hunting poetry are A Demon Spirit, In Deadly Embrace, and Fate the Hunter. In 2024 he was elected Fellow of the British Academy.