<p>Quite simply: these are seminal essays. . . . Distinguished scholarship erudite and full of innovative ways of interpreting Arabic and Persian poetry. --Omar Pound<br /><br />[This book] reads Arabic and Persian poetry in a refreshingly new and significant way. . . . raises our understanding . . . to a new level. --James T. Monroe<br /><br />Innovative methodologies reorient critical readings of classical Middle Eastern literature.</p>