Songs of an Eastern Humanist

Edward Said's Songs of an Eastern Humanist collects his never-before-published poems, offering insight into his personality and literary craft. The nineteen works are shot through with Said's capacious intellect and passionate sensibility, alternating between wit and pathos, sublimely elevated and quotidian registers, and sweeping in their vision and sensory experience. Their publication is a major literary event, marking twenty years since Said's passing.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 56 pages
Publication date: 24 January 2024
Publisher: ERIS

Edward Said, a renowned scholar and political figure, is known for his critical work on space and place and the political importance of geography. His poems often evoke a specific topography of dusty roads, grottos, plump figtrees, desert flowers, muddy clods, and beckoning hills. The poems also tend to see the world through musical form, with musical imagery being prevalent throughout. Said's mind was immersed in the sounds, forms, and fables of Western classical music, and this is evident in his poetry.

Said's scholarly and political writing was ground-breaking and shed light on the misrepresentation of non-Western peoples over centuries. He was a prominent voice in denouncing the modern-day injustices of Western foreign policy. Songs of an Eastern Humanist collects all of Said's never-before-published poems, offering insight into his personality and the themes of his works.

The nineteen works in the collection span various poetic forms, but they are all characterized by Said's capacious intellect and passionate sensibility. His poetry alternates between wit and pathos, between sublimely elevated and disarmingly quotidian registers. His individual lines of verse are exquisitely constructed and richly elusive, while his poems as a whole are sweeping in their vision and keenly evocative of sensory experience.

Said's poetry is a testament to his ability to capture the essence of the human experience and to convey it in a way that is both accessible and profound. It is a valuable addition to the literary canon and a reminder of the importance of understanding and appreciating different cultures and perspectives.

Weight: 140g
Dimension: 121 x 230 x 9 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781916809970