Tag Archives: Call Me Ishmael Tonight

Adrienne Rich’s ghazals

Posted on February 27, 2014 by wcd2

February 27, 2014 Her earliest ghazals are in Leaflets, at the very end of the volume, which I must have looked at.   But I’m reading them seriously only now — because of Agha Shahid Ali and Call Me Ishmael Tonight, … Continue reading →

Posted in Arabic, Black-Jewish alliances, Caribbean literature, Contemporary novel, Indian Ocean, Middle East, Near Eastern poetry, Poetry, Twentieth century literature | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Frank Stella, Agha Shahid Ali: Moby-Dick into ghazals

Posted on February 21, 2014 by wcd2

Feb 20, 2014 Stella’s “Fedallah” isn’t anything like Melville’s: not the “tiger-yellow” apparition “with one white tooth evilly protruding from its steel-like lips,” but a fluid, dancing figure, with some dark streaks and shadows, it’s true, but otherwise resplendent, impressive. … Continue reading →

Posted in abstract expressionism, adaptation, Arabic, Classics, Middle East, Modern art, Near Eastern poetry, Poetry, twentieth century art, Twentieth century literature | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Agha Shahid Ali’s “Call me Ishmael Tonight”

Posted on January 4, 2012 by wcd2

January 4, 2012 This was his last book of poems, published posthumously.   Agha Shahid Agha had died of brain cancer on December 8, 2001. How important was Moby-Dick to the Kashmiri poet?  Probably less than what Melvilleans would like to … Continue reading →

Posted in Islam, lyric, Near Eastern poetry, Nineteenth-century literature, Remediation, Translation, Twentieth century literature, world literature, World religions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 62 Comments