By Fahredin Shehu
PRISTINA, KOSOVO: Arabic poetry was transmitted orally until the fifth century. Poems were later written down.
These days, I have been removing the dust from the deepest recesses of my sub-consciousness (talking about some 30 years of my studies), looking for parallels of the old poetry with the contemporary Arab poetry.
The parallels allow me to recall Imru Al Qays, Antarah Ibn Sheddad, Al Nabigah al Dhubiyani, Tarafah, Dhuheir Abi Sulma who were some of the best poets whose long Arabic poems were hung on or in the Kaaba in Makkah, earning the prestigious name of Al Muallaqat – The Suspended Odes or The Hanging Poems.