[ralmidani]

I’m almost 44 and becoming decent at writing Arabic poetry in the classical style. Along with intricate grammatical rules in the language itself, there are strict conventions for meter and rhyme.

I enjoyed reading and memorizing when I lived in Syria for 5 years (7th-11th grade), then had a hiatus until my mid-20s when I suddenly started reading and memorizing again, and added reading more explanation and commentary and criticism. I tried to write my own but it was mostly cringe.

Every now and then my interest in Arabic poetry has been rekindled. This year, I finally started feeling confident enough to share my poetry with not just with family and close friends, but also on social media.

I don’t have a formal learning method as I tend to learn by repetition and osmosis (same with programming), but a few tips:

- Examine and study other folks’ work, especially of those who are famous or whom you personally admire. Don’t just examine the works of art themselves, but also seek out any resources that can help you understand the underlying history, tools, conventions, etc.

- Balance that with learning via your own endeavors. You’ll probably do better working on things that actually interest you. Personally, I can’t imagine enjoying or doing a good job writing poetry on a subject that doesn’t excite me.

- Don’t be shy about seeking feedback. Earlier this year I wrote a poem I was very proud of, but a friend of a friend (a top authority in Arabic and a poet in his own right) picked it apart quite thoroughly. It was humbling, but I internalized the feedback and came back stronger and more confident.

[sq1020]

Wow, just reading classical Arabic poetry was hard enough for me! It was one of the more frustrating genres of classical Arabic that I read. Having to look up every other word was just not my cup of tea. I did like some of al-Mutanabbi's stuff though. One of my old professors is legend in the field.

[ralmidani]

I have to look up a lot of words from classical (especially pre-Islamic) poetry as well. For my own poetry I use words that I, and anyone reading/listening, can understand more easily. When I said “classical” I meant the meter and rhyme aspects, not necessarily the vocabulary.