Bedouin Poetry from Sinai and the Negev

The desert-dwelling Bedouin have always been a subject of intense fascination. Their culture and ethics are still largely a mystery, both for the peoples with whom they share the Middle-Eastern and African lands, and for those living in the West. Like other non-literate peoples, the Bedouin have a strong oral tradition and use poetry for many forms of communication and entertainment. Clinton Bailey has spent the last twenty years among the Bedouin of Sinai and the Negev studying their culture and recording their poems as recited around campfires. This book presents the fruit of his work: 113 poems reflecting Bedouin attitudes to a variety of personal, social, and political experiences. Each poem is translated into English, appears in Arabic script and transliteration, and is accompanied by an introduction and notes on the cultural, linguistic, and historical background. This thorough and original study makes a vital contribution to our knowledge of the Bedouin, and will be of great interest to Arabists, anthropologists, linguists, sociologists, and all those who visit this part of the Arab world.

Dr Bailey has has lectured on Bedouin culture and history at various universities, and is a founder of the Museum of Bedouin Culture in the Negev.