![]() The gloss is by Muḥammad ibn Ḥabīb of the School of Baghdad. The poetry is written in a large script interpreted by a gloss in smaller script. Rubah was one of several Arabic poets of the time who coined new words or modified others to achieve a certain effect. The poet incorporated Bedouin themes of the desert in this collection of poetry. According to the historian ibn ‘Asākir, he wrote a eulogy for the Caliph al-Mansur and met Caliph al-Walid and Suleyman. The author, Ru’bah, was an Umayyad poet who died 145/762 in Basra at the beginning of the Abbasid Dynasty. From ancient times to the present, the written word and the craft of Middle Eastern bookmakers has established law, recorded history and myth, inspired faith, stimulated intellectual exploration, and created bonds between cultures both east and west.Īn anthology of diwan (poetry) written on laid paper with several ownership marks. The elegant Arabic alphabet lent itself to numerous decorative forms and abstract patterns, entrancing the eye even when direct images could not. The arts of the book – papermaking and decorating, calligraphy, illumination, binding, were highly developed in Middle Eastern culture early in its history – in the ancient lands in which the written word was first developed, where papyrus and pen were first used and artwork was first added to elucidate the text. ![]() This collaboration enhances meaning and invites intimacy between writer and reader. In books, verbal collaborates with visual, textual with textural. ![]() If words are the essence of books, the materials used and the technologies developed to write those words are the building blocks of a captured culture. Words, whether written on clay, papyrus, parchment, or paper, are a lasting memorial of humankind. As it stands, Poem of the River is a minor Felt album but still one worth discovering, because - despite the flaws - it's still Lawrence and it's still Felt.The written word records man's intellectual and spiritual journey. The songs are there and Lawrence sets aside all the cool detachment of the past, putting his heart into his vocals, but the production team let the band down painfully and it's almost enough to sink what could have been a really impressive follow-up to Forever Breathes the Lonely Word. Felt poem of the river rar windows#"Stained Glass Windows in the Sky" has some of the jaunty jangle that made the previous album so great, the first half of "She Lives by the Castle" is darkly beautiful (the second half is overshadowed by an endless organ solo), and the lengthy "Riding on the Equator" is the record's highlight, with Lawrence's desperate vocals, the spiraling guitar solos, and the sweeping organ coming together to dredge up some epic emotions. The overdone production doesn't always match up with the lyrics or Lawrence's stark vocals, but when it comes together the results can be heart-wrenchingly beautiful. He taps into serious defiance on the explosive "Declaration," details a love affair gone cold on the majestic "She Lives by the Castle," and struggles with isolation and loss on the rest of the album. Lawrence's songs are drawn from a deep, dark place within the singer's psyche and he sings them in a simple, unadorned fashion that feels blindingly honest. Poem of the River's treasures may be tricky to unearth, but they are worth the effort. That being said, even while operating at about 75% of their potential, Felt were still working at a higher level than almost every other band at the time. Working with Mayo Thompson as producer may not have been the best choice taking the songs to Robin Guthrie (who had done a less than stellar job for them in the past) was even worse. Martin Duffy's organ rides too high in the mix, the guitars tend to disappear at inopportune times, and Lawrence's vocals are often buried. ![]() Short at only six tracks, the songs don't come together as magically as they did previously and the album feels fragmented, as if someone got halfway through the mixing process and gave up. After the triumph of Forever Breathes the Lonely Word, Felt's seventh album, Poem of the River, comes as something of a letdown. ![]()
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