Selected Poems by Adonis

By Eelco van Riel

The short:

An impressive collection of poems spanning the career of the Arab world’s most famous poet who goes by the nom de plume of Adonis – the mythical lover of Aphrodite who was eventually killed by a wild boar.

The long:

‘Selected Poems’ is a survey of Adonis’s literary output. It presents English readers with the opportunity to peruse and admire the work of an exceptionally gifted poet. The interests of Adonis, as evinced by the breadth and scope of his poetry, ranges wide. Certain volumes, such as The Songs of Mihyar of Damascus, demonstrate his familiarity with the myths and legends of ages past and display his gift for symbolism. Others, notably Migrations and Transformations in the Regions of Night and Day, shrewdly employ historical figures, in this particular case Abdulrahman al-Dakhil (731-788 A.D.), the first emir of Cordoba, through which Adonis reflects and comments on the political upheavals of his time.

To read or not to read:

Read. Adonis is a dexterous poet. Daring. Adventurous. Informed. At times playful. His work, his poetic oeuvre, as attested to by ‘Selected Poems’, is both boldly innovative as well as appreciative of the extensive Arab literary tradition.