This book traces the history of classical Arabic wine poetry from its origins in the sixth century to its heyday in Baghdad at the turn of the ninth century. The focus is on the wine songs of the great Abú Nuwás (d. c.813) whose compositions are analysed within the context of the various related genres of classical Arabic poetry.

Classical Arab civilization produced the most extensive and highly developed bacchic tradition in world literature, In this book, Kennedy traces the history of wine poetry from its origins in sixth century Arabia to its heyday in Baghdad at the turn of the ninth century. He focusses on the work of the great Ab=u Nuw=as (d. c.813), placing his wine songs in context with those of his contemporaries and with other poetic genres such as amatory, invective, ascetic, and gnomic verse.

This work presents the reader with a rigorously critical analysis of an important genre of Arabic poetry ... The presentation of this volume is of the very highest standards ... we must express our gratitude to Kennedy and to the Clarendon Press (and to the Oxford Oriental Monograph series in which this book appears) for providing us with the luxury of such an accomplished and attractive study of one of the Arabic language's most celebrated poets.