poetic poignancy and richness, tinged with leftist sentiments, faith in the
masses, engagement with nationalist issues, and wide knowledge, along with
his known revelries despite his many exiles, situate him in the very rich nexus
of modernity and tradition. Issues of progress, faith in change, resistance to
regressive and backward notions are there in abundance in his poetry and
practical life. The difference lies in the view of poetry, its forms, language,
and adaptability to new styles and ways. Overall, al-Jawmhirlhas been a
challenge to the modernists. However, this talent is an individual trait in an
age that is not very receptive to the classical mode of poetry.
Approaching the glorious legacy: three directions
Perhaps one way of dealing with the poetics of al-Jawmhirlin context is to
draw a comparison between his treatment of precursors, especially
al-Mutanabbland al-Macarrl, and their presentation in the works of such
advocates of modernity as Xalmh cAbd al-Xabnr (1931–1981), Adnnls (b. 1930),
and al-Baymtl(1926–1999). I shall reserve Ma.mnd Darwlsh (b. 1942), Sacdl
Ynsuf, and the rest for the discussion of dialogization as a textual space
of “plurality of independent and unmerged voices and consciousnesses.”^14
The modernity–tradition nexus is already there in the cultural dialogue of the
“awakening” period. In 1944, Ymhm>usayn retraces his interest in the
modernity constant within a West–East encounter: “As the contact between
the awakened East and the modern West grew, intellectuals got relatively
attracted to Abnal-cAlm’ [al-Macarrl], because they found in the literatures of
the West tracks of thought, sensibility, and imagery. They would like to see
something similar in Arabic literature, and their desire was greatly appeased
when they came upon al-Macarrl.”^15 He elaborates on this issue in relation to
the unromantic aspect of modernity.
They noticed in Western literatures a poetry which is engaged in
philosophy and tackles major issues. When they searched for a
corresponding aspect in Arabic literature, they found portions in
al-Mutanabbl, and scattered details in AbnTammmm, but it was
there in abundance in al-Macarrl.^16Ymhm>usayn’s notion was obviously popular among the literati. The
renowned Egyptian playwright Tawflq al->aklm (d. 1987) was no less
attracted to the blind poet, “who was like Homer, imagining things in their
sublimity.”^17 The next generation displayed greater preference for al-Macarrl.
In his >aymtlflal-shicr(My Poetic Career), the Egyptian poet Xalmh cAbd
al-Xabnr, for instance, says of the classical poet that “life deprived him of
eyesight and disappointed him in many ways, but he sublimated himself,
much above life and selfhood, to speak of the ‘the human condition,’ and this
POETIC STRATEGIES