We begin the week with a look at the journey to translate the works of a 17^th century Bedouin poet, the poet mentioned in a Twitter hack and Wordsworths work on the buses.

The Journey to Translate Bedouin Poetry

Former diplomat and specialist in Nabati poetry, Marcel Kupershoek, is attempting to translate the Bedouin poetry of Ibn Dhaher, the 17th-century poet into English. With his publishing date looming he has hit something of a block with a number of the words so his journey has taken him to Ras Al Khaimah to find someone who can help him.

Kupershoek is putting together a book about the life and times of the poet who was a folklore icon. The book will be produced for the Library of Arabic Literature and is due to be published by New York University Abu Dhabi in May. He has over a decade of experience working with Bedouin poetry and has been working on his research into the poet and his lyrics for the last two years but unfortunately, there are some words that he has been simply unable to translate.

Having trawled the archives with little success, he has travelled to Ras Al Khaimah, the burial place of the poet, in the hope of finding someone who can help him. He firmly believes that sometimes you simply have to be in a close radius to the place you are linked to in order to find the answers you need.

Fortunately, the poet is a household name in the region. In fact, he was so admired that people travelled to Ras Al Khaimah in order to here recitals of his poetry. His grave is now a festive gathering place.

Unfortunately, his talks with locals were unsuccessful, but through word of mouth he was directed from one “old man” to another to another until he finally found a fisherman who he believes may be able to help him.

Poet Quoted in Defense Minister Tweet Hack

Naftali Bennett, the Israeli Minister of Defence, was the unfortunate victim of a Twitter hacker over the weekend. His account was hacked either by Turkish or pro-Palestinian hackers who posted a number of tweets.  They also posted a picture of the flag of Turkey, the Palestinian flag and also the name of Mehmet Akif Ersoy, an Ottoman born poet from Turkey.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the hack and the tweets were deleted within minutes. The minister’s office has confirmed that the account was hacked and also that all passwords and account security have been changed and tightened up since the event.

Wordsworth on the Bus

Another event to mark not only the reopening of William Wordsworth’s Lakeland home, Dove Cottage, and the 250^th birthday celebrations of the poet has been announced.

On 19^th March travellers between Keswick and Windemere will be able to share a bus with poets who will be reciting not only their own poetry but also works by   Wordsworth himself. This latest event is the result of a collaboration between the Wordsworth Trust and Stagecoach and will take place on both the 555 and 599 buses.