Abu’l-Ala al-Ma’arri, the blind poet of eleventh-century Syria, was famous for his doubt, his asceticism and his bleak wit about religion and mortality. Henry Baerlein renders his thought in English quatrains on the passing of all things, with an introduction and notes comparing him to Homer, Omar Khayyam and others.
A short, striking book for readers who love the Rubaiyat and want its sterner forerunner. Download the free EPUB.