[Next Project] Poetry by Ameen Rihani

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Weijia Cheng

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Mar 12, 2023, 11:06:24 PM3/12/23
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Once I get The Middle Five wrapped up I'm going to work on a poetry collection for Ameen Rihani.

During his lifetime, he published four English poetry collections. Two of them are translations of Al-Ma'arri's poems (two different editions of the same poems, in fact) so those can go into an Al-Ma'arri collection which I'll probably work on after this one. The original poetry collections he wrote are on Wikisource.

Myrtle and Myrrh: Wikisource, IA
A Chant of Mystics: Wikisource, IA -- Sadly this isn't full transcribed on Wikisource but it isn't a huge collection so I'm happy to transcribe the rest of it myself.

Alex Cabal

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Mar 15, 2023, 6:51:09 PM3/15/23
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OK; if they're both self contained volumes with no overlap, we could do
each one individually.

On 3/12/23 10:06 PM, Weijia Cheng wrote:
> Once I get /The Middle Five/ wrapped up I'm going to work on a poetry
> collection for Ameen Rihani
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ameen_Rihani_bibliography>.
>
> During his lifetime, he published four English poetry collections. Two
> of them are translations of Al-Ma'arri
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ma'arri>'s poems (two different
> editions of the same poems, in fact) so those can go into an Al-Ma'arri
> collection which I'll probably work on after this one. The original
> poetry collections he wrote are on Wikisource.
>
> Myrtle and Myrrh: Wikisource
> <https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Myrtle_and_Myrrh>, IA
> <https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha>
> A Chant of Mystics: Wikisource
> <https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Chant_of_Mystics_and_Other_Poems>, IA
> <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha> -- Sadly this isn't
> full transcribed on Wikisource but it isn't a huge collection so I'm
> happy to transcribe the rest of it myself.
>
> --
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Weijia Cheng

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Mar 15, 2023, 9:09:56 PM3/15/23
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Ok, given the choice, I think I will continue doing these as an omnibus, since I don't think there's a strong thematic difference between the collections and this will make it easier if we have to add an uncollected poem down the line.

Weijia Cheng

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May 1, 2023, 9:33:59 AM5/1/23
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OK, here's a situation I've never seen before. Both Myrtle and Myrrh and A Chant of Mystics have different versions of the poem "The Fruits of Death," which have the same general theme but different verses. If I had to guess, since Chant was published later, it has a revised version of the original from Myrtle and Myrrh. What do we want to do with this? Cut the first one from Myrtle and Myrrh, or maybe keep both? They are different enough that I would argue they constitute distinct poems.

Weijia Cheng

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May 1, 2023, 9:34:23 AM5/1/23
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Weijia Cheng

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May 2, 2023, 9:46:56 AM5/2/23
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Interesting, it seems the Chant of Mystics version of "The Fruits of Death" was first published in 1911 in The Atlantic, just a few years after Myrtle and Myrrh was published: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1911/11/fruits-death/585949/

Since Rihani could have chosen to republish either version in 1921, and he chose the Atlantic version, I'm going to treat that as Rihani's final version and cut the one from Myrtle and Myrrh from the final production.

Alex Cabal

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May 2, 2023, 5:16:49 PM5/2/23
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OK, sounds good to me. That would be a good production note to add.

On 5/2/23 8:46 AM, Weijia Cheng wrote:
> Interesting, it seems the /Chant of Mystics/ version of "The Fruits of
> Death" was first published in 1911 in /The Atlantic/, just a few years
> after /Myrtle and Myrrh/ was published:
> https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1911/11/fruits-death/585949/
>
> Since Rihani could have chosen to republish either version in 1921, and
> he chose the /Atlantic/ version, I'm going to treat that as Rihani's
> final version and cut the one from /Myrtle and Myrrh/ from the final
> production.
>
> On Monday, May 1, 2023 at 6:34:23 AM UTC-7 Weijia Cheng wrote:
>
> https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater>
> https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater>
>
> Links for comparison
>
> On Monday, May 1, 2023 at 6:33:59 AM UTC-7 Weijia Cheng wrote:
>
> OK, here's a situation I've never seen before. Both /Myrtle and
> Myrrh/ and /A Chant of Mystics/ have different versions of the
> poem "The Fruits of Death," which have the same general theme
> but different verses. If I had to guess, since /Chant/ was
> published later, it has a revised version of the original from
> /Myrtle and Myrrh/. What do we want to do with this? Cut the
> first one from /Myrtle and Myrrh/, or maybe keep both? They are
> <https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Chant_of_Mystics_and_Other_Poems <https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Chant_of_Mystics_and_Other_Poems>>, IA
> > <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha
> <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha>> --
> Sadly this isn't
> > full transcribed on Wikisource but it isn't a huge
> collection so I'm
> > happy to transcribe the rest of it myself.
> >
> > --
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Weijia Cheng

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May 11, 2023, 9:21:14 AM5/11/23
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Rihani plays with orientalist themes and uses plenty of imagery of temples and gates and doors, which this evokes without being an obviously recognizable building of any kind.

Weijia Cheng

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May 11, 2023, 9:25:38 AM5/11/23
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cover.png

Alex Cabal

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May 11, 2023, 11:26:31 AM5/11/23
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Looks good, thanks!

On 5/11/23 8:21 AM, Weijia Cheng wrote:
> For the cover, I suggest this painting:
> https://www.artic.edu/artworks/111736/circassian-cavalry-awaiting-their-commanding-officer-at-the-door-of-a-byzantine-monument-memory-of-the-orient
>
> Rihani plays with orientalist themes and uses plenty of imagery of
> temples and gates and doors, which this evokes without being an
> obviously recognizable building of any kind.
>
> On Tuesday, May 2, 2023 at 2:16:49 PM UTC-7 Alex Cabal wrote:
>
> OK, sounds good to me. That would be a good production note to add.
>
> On 5/2/23 8:46 AM, Weijia Cheng wrote:
> > Interesting, it seems the /Chant of Mystics/ version of "The
> Fruits of
> > Death" was first published in 1911 in /The Atlantic/, just a few
> years
> > after /Myrtle and Myrrh/ was published:
> >
> https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1911/11/fruits-death/585949/ <https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1911/11/fruits-death/585949/>
> >
> > Since Rihani could have chosen to republish either version in
> 1921, and
> > he chose the /Atlantic/ version, I'm going to treat that as Rihani's
> > final version and cut the one from /Myrtle and Myrrh/ from the final
> > production.
> >
> > On Monday, May 1, 2023 at 6:34:23 AM UTC-7 Weijia Cheng wrote:
> >
> >
> https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater> <https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater>>
> >
> https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater> <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater>>
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>>>.
> >
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Weijia Cheng

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May 18, 2023, 10:24:16 AM5/18/23
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Alex Cabal

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May 22, 2023, 1:18:14 PM5/22/23
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OK, looks very good. I've gone ahead and released it, thanks!

On 5/18/23 9:24 AM, Weijia Cheng wrote:
> https://github.com/weijia-cheng/ameen-rihani_poetry
>
> This is ready for review!
>
> On Thursday, May 11, 2023 at 8:26:31 AM UTC-7 Alex Cabal wrote:
>
> Looks good, thanks!
>
> On 5/11/23 8:21 AM, Weijia Cheng wrote:
> > For the cover, I suggest this painting:
> >
> https://www.artic.edu/artworks/111736/circassian-cavalry-awaiting-their-commanding-officer-at-the-door-of-a-byzantine-monument-memory-of-the-orient <https://www.artic.edu/artworks/111736/circassian-cavalry-awaiting-their-commanding-officer-at-the-door-of-a-byzantine-monument-memory-of-the-orient>
> >
> > Rihani plays with orientalist themes and uses plenty of imagery of
> > temples and gates and doors, which this evokes without being an
> > obviously recognizable building of any kind.
> >
> > On Tuesday, May 2, 2023 at 2:16:49 PM UTC-7 Alex Cabal wrote:
> >
> > OK, sounds good to me. That would be a good production note to add.
> >
> > On 5/2/23 8:46 AM, Weijia Cheng wrote:
> > > Interesting, it seems the /Chant of Mystics/ version of "The
> > Fruits of
> > > Death" was first published in 1911 in /The Atlantic/, just a few
> > years
> > > after /Myrtle and Myrrh/ was published:
> > >
> >
> https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1911/11/fruits-death/585949/ <https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1911/11/fruits-death/585949/> <https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1911/11/fruits-death/585949/ <https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1911/11/fruits-death/585949/>>
> > >
> > > Since Rihani could have chosen to republish either version in
> > 1921, and
> > > he chose the /Atlantic/ version, I'm going to treat that as
> Rihani's
> > > final version and cut the one from /Myrtle and Myrrh/ from the
> final
> > > production.
> > >
> > > On Monday, May 1, 2023 at 6:34:23 AM UTC-7 Weijia Cheng wrote:
> > >
> > >
> >
> https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater> <https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater>> <https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater> <https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/myrtlemyrrhpoems00riha/page/48/mode/1up?view=theater>>>
> > >
> >
> https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater> <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater>> <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater> <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater <https://archive.org/details/chantofmysticsot00riha/page/21/mode/1up?view=theater>>>
> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/383e555c-2b6a-4aa7-843d-b393332672edn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>>>>.
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