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  • Book cover of The Persians
    Aeschylus

     · 1970

    The mighty Xerxes from Darius sprung, The stream of whose rich blood flows in our veins, Leads against Greece; whether his arrowy shower Shot from the strong-braced bow, or the huge spear High brandish'd, in the deathful field prevails.

  • Book cover of The Arabian Nights
    Muhsin Mahdi

     · 1995

    The tales portray a world of magic, wish-fulfillment and pleasure, depicting the marriage of the supernatural to the ordinary and the sacred to the profane.

  • Book cover of Woman at Point Zero

    "All the men I did get to know, every single man of them, has filled me with but one desire: to lift my hand and bring it smashing down on his face. But because I am a woman I have never had the courage to lift my hand. And because I am a prostitute, I hid my fear under layers of make-up." --ExcerptThis is a new edition of the best-selling novel with a specially commissioned new Foreword by Miriam Cooke.

  • Book cover of The Ancient Near East

    Two classic illustrated anthologies, now combined in one convenient volume James Pritchard's classic anthologies of the ancient Near East have introduced generations of readers to texts essential for understanding the peoples and cultures of this important region. Now these two enduring works have been combined and integrated into one convenient and richly illustrated volume, with a new foreword that puts the translations in context. With more than 130 reading selections and 300 photographs of ancient art, architecture, and artifacts, this volume provides a stimulating introduction to some of the most significant and widely studied texts of the ancient Near East, including the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Creation Epic (Enuma elish), the Code of Hammurabi, and the Baal Cycle. For students of history, religion, the Bible, archaeology, and anthropology, this anthology provides a wealth of material for understanding the ancient Near East. Represents the diverse cultures and languages of the ancient Near East—Sumerian, Akkadian, Egyptian, Hittite, Ugaritic, Canaanite, and Aramaic—in a wide range of genres: Historical texts Legal texts and treaties Inscriptions Hymns Didactic and wisdom literature Oracles and prophecies Love poetry and other literary texts Letters New foreword puts the classic translations in context More than 300 photographs document ancient art, architecture, and artifacts related to the texts Fully indexed

  • Book cover of The Haft Paykar

    The romance of the Haft Paykar ("Seven Beauties") is one of the great works of Persian literature. Completed in 1197 by the poet Nizami of Ganja, it is an allegorical romance of great beauty and depth, and its central theme of self-knowledge as the path to human perfection is conveyed in rich and vivid imagery and complex symbolism. The Haft Paykar tells the story of the Sassanian ruler Prince Bahram V Gur and his progress towards wisdom, and is enlivened by many adventures and by the seven tales--love stories--told to the prince by his brides. This new English verse translation captures the beauty and sophistication of the original, and makes this masterpiece of twelfth-century Persia accessible to a wide audience.

  • Book cover of A Simple Story

    When a young girl loses her parents and comes to live as a maid at the home of her wealthy relatives, she triggers a complex series of events in the life of Hirshl Hurvitz, her young cousin, who falls in love with her.

  • Book cover of Keys to the Garden

    One hundred stories, poems and essays by Oriental Jews on subjects ranging from race to political allegiance. One story is on a professor's wife who, unable to conceive, takes a student to bed.

  • Book cover of The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist
    Orhan Pamuk

     · 2010

    Orhan Pamuk examines the relationship between author and reader, discussing the distinction between "naive" and "sentimental" writing, and considering the fundamental elements of a novel--character, plot, time, setting--that tie a reader to a fictional world.

  • Book cover of Woman at Point Zero

    So begins Firdaus' story, leading to her grimy Cairo prison cell, where she welcomes her death sentence as a relief from her pain and suffering. Born to a peasant family in the Egyptian countryside, Firdaus suffers a childhood of cruelty and neglect. Her passion for education is ignored by her family, and on leaving school she is forced to marry a much older man. Following her escapes from violent relationships, she finally meets Sharifa who tells her that 'A man does not know a woman's value ... the higher you price yourself the more he will realise what you are really worth' and leads her into a life of prostitution. Desperate and alone, she takes drastic action. -- Publisher description.

  • Book cover of In the Presence of Absence

    Winner of the 2012 National Translation Award “What Sinan [Antoon] has done with In the Presence of Absence is a kind of miraculous work of dedication and love. Reading this volume is sheer enjoyment and sublimity.” —Saadi Yousef “There are two maps of Palestine that politicians will never manage to forfeit: the one kept in the memories of Palestinian refugees, and that which is drawn by Darwish’s poetry.” —Anton Shammas One of the most transcendent poets of his generation, Darwish composed this remarkable elegy at the apex of his creativity, but with the full knowledge that his death was imminent. Thinking it might be his final work, he summoned all his poetic genius to create a luminous work that defies categorization. In stunning language, Darwish’s self-elegy inhabits a rare space where opposites bleed and blend into each other. Prose and poetry, life and death, home and exile are all sung by the poet and his other. On the threshold of im/mortality, the poet looks back at his own existence, intertwined with that of his people. Through these lyrical meditations on love, longing, Palestine, history, friendship, family, and the ongoing conversation between life and death, the poet bids himself and his readers a poignant farewell.