Fate the Hunter: Early Arabic Hunting Poems

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 Antarah ibn Shaddd, offers a new edition and translation of twenty-six early works of hunting poetry, or ardiyyt. Included here are poems by pre-Islamic poets such as Imru al-Qays and al-Shanfar, as well as poets from the Umayyad era such as al-Shamardal ibn Shark. The volume concludes with the earliest extant epistle about hunting, written by Abd al-amd al-Ktib, a master of Arabic prose.
Through the eyes of the poet, the hunters pursuit of the quarry mirrors Fates 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.