starting-point for research into Arabic traditions of
male-male erotic/sensual/sexual relationships. *************************************************************
@@@ Version 2 @@@, June 1995.
@nticopyright - please freely distribute this text
This reflects my interests in literature and poetry. I'm not an Arabist, so this isn't comprehensive, it is just an expansion of a letter I sent to a fellow scholar, and is just meant as a 'launch-pad' for those unfamiliar with the subject and who can only read English...
Contact: ianthe@duende.demon.co.uk ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
**The work of NORMAN ROTH is well worth following...
Roth, Norman. "The Care and Feeding of Gazelles" - medieval Hebrew and Arabic Love Poetry. IN: Lazar, M. and Lacy, N. (Eds) Poetics of Love in the Middle Ages, Fairfax, VA, 1989.
Roth, Norman. Fawn of My Delights - boy-love in Hebrew and Arabic Verse. IN: Sex in the Middle Ages, New York, 1991. pp.157-172.
Roth, Norman. Boy-love in Medieval Arabic Verse PAIDIKA - Journal of Paedophilia, Vol 3, No.3, Winter 1994. pp.12-17
'Paidika', even though it is a scholarly journal, may be
hard to obtain through normal academic library channels in
the USA, what with politically-correct library stock policies.
The subscription address is...
Paidika - journal of paedophilia
Postbus 15463
1001 ML Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Single copies 17 dollars to the USA, subscription 68 dollars
for four issues. Well worth subscribing to. British Library
Document Supply Centre at Boston Spa now stock copies, and they can
probably get back-copies via HOMODOC in Amsterdam.
**A good short overview which doesn't assume a deep knowledge of Islam is:
Easterman, Dan. The Erection Is Eternal. NEW STATESMAN AND SOCIETY (UK), 12th Feb. 1993, pp. 26-27
and (if you can find it...)
Wormhoudt, Arthur. Classic Arab Poetry, 600-1299 GAY BOOKS BULLETIN, Autumn 1980, Vol 4. pp.23-27
(Note: In Persian and Turkish there is no gender distinction in the third person pronoun. Consequently, many translations have she instead of he. By the context, however, you can tell that the beloved is male. There was an article on that subject back in the fifties in 'Studia Islamica'.)
**Recent short academic overviews are...
Daniel, Marc (Leyland, Winston. Trans.) Arab Civilisation and Male Love. IN: Goldburg, Johnathon (Ed.) Reclaiming Sodomy. Routledge, London, 1994. pp. 59-65.
Schild, Maarten. The Irresistible Beauty of Boys - Middle Eastern attitudes about boy-love. PAIDIKA, Vol 1, No.3.
Baldauf, Ingeborg. Boy-love, Folksong and Literature in Central Asia. PAIDIKA, Vol 2, No. 6.
**See also a recent article in 'perversions - the international
journal of lesbian and gay studies...
Sikand, Yoginder. Martyr for Love - Hazrat Sayed Sarmad, a Sufi gay mystic. PERVERSIONS, Spring 1995, Issue 4, pp. 149-157
perversions - international journal of lesbian and gay studies.
BM perversions
England
United Kingdom
More material on sacred pederasty in the Sufi tradition can be found in:
Schimmel, Annemarie. Mystical Dimensions of Islam. University of
North Carolina Press, 1975. 506pp. [See pages 287-343]
and...
Wilson, Peter Lamborn. Scandal : essays in Islamic heresy.
Brooklyn, New York, Autonomedia, c1988. 224 p. Biblio.
the address of the publisher for the latter is...
Autonomedia
Box 568
Brooklyn, New York
'Scandal' is also in some large University libraries in the USA (eg Washington)
**the mythical Hakim Bey translated a selection of the poetry of Abu Nuwas...
Bey, Hakim (Ed and Trans.) Nuwas, Abu. O Tribe The Loves
Boys - adaptations by Hakim Bey. Gay Men's Press,
London, 1993. (Also published in USA I think.)
Bey has also written many anarchist pamphlets and he may know where to purchase Wilson's 'Scandal', as he is part of the Autonomedia collective. He has his own great Web-page (lucky him!) at...
http://www.uio.no:80/~mwatz/bey/
**An ABU NUWAS SOCIETY has existed since 1990, to cover all aspects
of sexual culture in the Middle East (inc. the Maghreb), and
concentrates on homosexuality.
Abu Nuwas Society - for the study of sexual culture in the
Middle-East. (The Advisory Board looks pretty heavyweight...)
Abu Nuwas Society
PO Box 85394
3508 AK Utrecht
The Netherlands
**Several books are forthcoming on Arabic homosexuality - see the
Lesbigay Scholars Listing (enquire in Listserv list QSTUDY-L if
you're an academic or student who hasn't yet got a copy of this vital document)
**Some anthologies...
Christman, Henry. M. (Ed.) Gay Tales and Verses from the Arabian Nights. Edward-William Publishing Company/Banned Books, USA 1989. 104pp 0-934411-27-1 Trade Paper $7.95
Lacey, E. A. (Translator) The Delight of Hearts: Or, What You Will Not Find in Any Book. Gay Sunshine Press, 1988. 240pp, illus. ISBN/Price: 0-940567-08-3 Library Binding $25.00 0-940567-09-1 Trade Paper $14.95
[Al-Tifashi, Ahmad (Compiled by, Preface by); Lacey, E. A.
(Introduction by, ); Khawam, Rene R. (Introduction by).
An anthology of Arabic gay literature - is a translation of a
translation of a translation, so has probably lost something
in the process...]
Ibn Dawud (Muhammed Ibn Dawud Al-Isfahani). Kitab al-zahara. (The Book of the Flower) Nykl, Richard (Ed.) Oriental Institute, Chicago, USA, 1932. 406pp.
[Arabic text. 9th Century anthology which includes love poetry
to boys by several authors. There are also translations in
E.G. Browne's 'Literary History of Persia' and Franz Rosenthal's
translation of Ibn Khaldun's 'Muqaddima'. ]
Reid, Anthony. (Ed.) The Eternal Flame - a world anthology of homosexual verse, 2000 B.C.- 2000 A.D. Volume 1 - Greece, Italy, Islam, France. New York, Dyanthus Press, 1992.
[Available mail-order in the EC from Prinz Eisenhart, Berlin - ask
for the poetry list. In USA try Ariel's Pages mail-order. New translations]
**Other citations pulled off Bibliographic Databases, which are known to have gay love poems...
Author: Ibn Hazm, Ali ibn Ahmad, 994-1064. Title: A book containing the Risala known as The dove's neck-ring,
about love and lovers, composed by Abu Muhammad Ali ibn Hazm al-
Andalusi ... Translated from the unique manuscript in the
University of Leiden, edited by D. K. Petrof in 1914, by A. R.
Nykl. Pub. Info.: Paris, P. Geuthner, 1931. Phy Descript: cxxiv, 244 p. 26 cm. Notes: Bibliography: p. [v]-x. LC Subject: Love. Other Author: Petrov, D. K. (Dmitrii Konstantinovich), 1872-1925.
Nykl, A. R. (Alois Richard), b. 1885.
Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden. Bibliotheek. Manuscript
Goeje. Arab. 461. Other Title: dove's neck-ring.
Author: Ibn Dawud al-Isfahani, Abu Bakr Muhammad, 868 or 9-909 or
10. Title: al-Nisf al-awwal min kitab al-Zahrah, talif Abi Bakr Muhammad
ibn Abi Sulayman Dawud al-Isfahani. Pub. Info.: [Baghdad, Maktabat al-Muthanna, 1968?]. Phy Descript: 3, 406, 8 p. 24 cm. Notes: Cover title. Added cover title: Kitab al-zahrah (The book of the
flower) : the first half, composed by Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abi
Sulaiman Dawud al-Isfahani. Reprint of the ed. prepared by A. R.
Nykl and published in Chicago, 1932. LC Subject: Love-poetry-Arabic. Other Author: Nykl, A. R. (Alois Richard), b. 1885. Series Info.: Studies in ancient oriental civilization ; no. 6.
Author: Nykl, A. R. (Alois Richard), b. 1885. Title: Hispano-Arabic poetry, and its relations with the old Provencal
troubadours, by A.R. Nykl. Pub. Info.: Baltimore [Printed by J.H. Furst Company] 1946. Phy Descript: xxvii, 416 p. plates. 25 cm. Notes: "First American edition.". Bibliographical references included
in "Notes" at end of each chapter.
Author: Isfahani, 868-909. Unif. Title: [Zahrah.]. Title: al-Nisf al-awwal min Kitab al-zahrah : tab li-awwal marrah
naqlan an al-nuskhah al-wahidah al-makhtutah fi Dar al-Kutub al-
Misriyah / talif Abi Bakr Muhammad ibn Abi Sulayman al-Isfahani
; itana bi-nashrih Luwis Nikl ; bi-musaadat Ibrahim Abd al-
Fattah Tuqan. Pub. Info.: Bayrut : Matbaat al-Aba al-Yasuiyin, 1932. Phy Descript: 406, 8 p. ; 25 cm. Notes: Added t.p. and foreword in English. No more published?. Includes
indexes. Other Author: Nykl, A. R. (Alois Richard), b. 1885.
Tuqan, Ibrahim Abd al-Fattah, 1905-1941. Other Title: Kitab al-zahrah. Series Info.: Studies in ancient oriental civilization ; no. 6.
Author: Ibn Hazm, Ali ibn Ahmad, 994-1064. Title: The ring of the dove; a treatise on the art and practice of Arab
love. Translated by A. J. Arberry. Pub. Info.: London, Luzac, 1953. Phy Descript: 288 p. 22 cm. LC Subject: Love. Other Author: Arberry, A. J. (Arthur John), 1905-1969.
**Richard Burton's 1886 'Book of A Thousand...' can be had as an e-text
from Project Gutenburg, though in the copy I have, the Terminal Essay is
missing. As Burton is hard to find in paper form, you can find lengthy
sections of 'Terminal Essay' reprinted in:
Reade, Brian. (Ed.) Sexual Heretics; Male
Homosexuality in English literature from 1850-1900 -
an anthology. London, Routledge, Keegan and Paul, 1970.
which is taken from:
Burton, Richard, "Terminal Essay, Part IV, Social
Conditions - Pederasty", IN: The Book of the
Thousand Nights and a Night, 10 vols.,
(privately printed, 1886 onwards), Vol 10, pp. 205-254
paper "Beyond the Sotadic Zone: Colonization and Sexuality in Richard Burton's Terminal Essay" was presented to the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) meeting, Aug. 1993, by John Hollister: e-mail bb05246@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu (John Hollister)
**A possibly useful Listserv list is:
Discussion Name: LT-ANTIQ Topic Information: A discussion forum for topics relating to Late Antiquity (c. AD 260-640). For the purposes of this discussion list, "Late Antiquity" includes the Late Roman, Early Byzantine, Early Medieval, and Early **Islamic** periods. Geographical coverage extends from western Europe to the Middle East, and from the Sahara to Russia. Subscription Information: listserv@univscvm.csd.scarolina.edu Edited? No Contact Address: Ralph W. Mathisen n330009@univscvm.csd.scarolina.edu Submission Address: LT-ANTIQ@univscvm.csd.scarolina.edu Keywords: History (AD 260-640) VR: 9th Revision 1/1/95
**More citations, many of which are for works not in English,
can be found IN: Dynes, Wayne. Homosexuality - a research
guide. Garland, USA, 1987. [Cf 'Islam' - pages 156-166]
**************************************** couple of examples of Arabic poetry...
Anon (9th Century Arabic)
SURPRISE, SURPRISE (Trans. Derek Parker)
Nizam the pederast, whose delight in boys Was known throughout Bagdad, one afternoon In a secluded place saw in a clearing The flash of limbs behind a nearby bush, And looking closer came upon a youth Who seemed more lovely than his dreams had promised, Lying asleep in shade, his head pressed deep Into crossed arms, his long slim body Quite naked, the firm buttocks firmly offered. Quick as a jackal pouncing, Nizam jumped Upon the lad, his robe about his waist, The startled boy pierced by his lusty cock Before you could say knife. Not until later, When boy lay panting on the flattened grass, Did Nizam, pausing to embrace his love, Discover him a her, surprised but pleased At having been given such pleasure at a source No previous lover seemed to know about.
Nizam converted ? Never. But the girl Now gives her lovers strange instruction.
Abu Nuwas
said as the narcissus-boy came ambling by,
peach twirled in his hand: 'What a pity to wait until we offer cash!
Give love its proper due!' 'More pitiful still,' he replied, and chuckled,
'is a penniless flop at the door.'
Make many deletions, Jinan, when you write,
and delete the word, when you do, with your tongue and, passing deletingly over a word,
draw it close to your beautiful lips; for I hold, when running over the lines,
the cancelled somethings for a lick: That - is a kiss from you from afar
which I steal while keeping here to my room.
boy at blush of dawn
silver in the absolute in whom the eye beholds
beauty in infinite poised perfection, eclipsed
in re-creation launching - so beauty moves in orbits
reborn and unregenerate.
ianthe@duende.demon.co.uk ****************************************************
ends