Introducing the infamous hard-drinking and eloquent poet who stands at the very heart of Arabic literary culture.

THIS SERIES is devoted to the men and women throughout history who have made a signiicant contricution to the political, intellectual and religious landscape of the Muslim world. Each title combines first-rate scholarship with a strong emphasis on readability, and will serve as a perfect introduction for general readers and academics alike.

ABU NUWAS (c.756 - 813) was one of the greatest Arab poets of the classical period. In literary history, he is remembered chiefly as the hard-drinking and eloquent composer of dissolute wine poems, from which he emerges as one of the most charasmatic figures in world literature. Yet, he was in fact an all-round poet and exerted a profound influence on Abbasid poetry more generally; he is one of a handful of individuals who can be deemed to stand at the very heart of Arabic literary culture. In the narrative tradition, his impish persona appears in some stories of the Thousand and One Nights.

Abu Nuwas presents the entertaining life story of this legendary figure alongside accessible translations of some of his most important poems. With commentaries, a glossary and a guide to further reading, this book is the ideal introduction to a true genius of Arabic literature.

Philip F. Kennedy is Associate Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and Comparative Literature at New York University. His published works include The Wine Song in Classical Arabic Poetry: Abu Nuwas and the Literary Tradition.