Ten Modern Arab Poets

Ten Modern Arab Poets, first published in 1992, is a selection of the best of Irish poet Desmond O'Grady's translations from the Arabic. The poets choen include Abu Nuwas of Iraq, Ibrahim Naji of Egypt, Badawi al-Jabal of Syria and Al-Tijani Yusuf Bashir of Sudan. "Love is the dominant theme of all Arabic poetry from pre-Islamic times to the present," O'Grady writes in his introduction. "The Arab concept of poets and poetry is essentially romantic, and love in its various forms essentially its theme: love of woman, friend, country, Arab identity, God or his manifestations." O'Grady also provides a short biographical introduction to each poet.