No description available.

Lucky Creature is a collection of poems that considers particular aspects of being human, specifically love, death, isolation, and the nature of knowledge. A primary concern is the body, explored as a vehicle for shame. The role of imagination as a means of escape is also paramount, leading always toward an act of transformation as a chance at immortality in an entropic universe where everything has a shelf life.

Thesis (doctoral)--Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen-Nürnberg. / Includes index. Bibliography: p. 205-215.

The central term in Tamil Śaiva religious vocabulary is aruḷ, designating Śiva's fundamental principle. It is widely regarded that Śiva's aruḷ spawned the cosmos, and to a practicing Śaiva, only Śiva's aruḷ can free a soul from the cycle of samsāra or rebirth. In a Śaiva theological context, the term debuts in medieval bhakti (devotional) hymns of the nāyan̲mār (poet-saints); over the course of four centuries (ca. 6th - 9th cents CE) the theological nuances of the term became increasingly intricate. In the last major devotional work produced, the Tiruvācakam (ca. 9th cent CE), Māṇikkavācakar expanded the semantic latitude of aruḷ, using it in ways that the previous Śaiva poets had not. Māṇikkavācakar created a space for arul to become the Śaiva identity mark par excellence. He used the term to indicate an array of theological aspects--Śiva himself, Śiva's grace, any action that Śiva undertakes, the path of knowledge that assists devotees in understanding the nature of the soul, and the mercy and compassion that Śiva has for his servants. While this list is not exhaustive, it points to the semantic breadth of arul as a Śaiva theological concept. This dissertation is an analysis of the semantic evolution of the concept arul through three genres of Tamil literature: classical (caṅkam) heroic and love poetry, and medieval Śaiva devotional poetry. I utilize a variety of texts for the project. From the eight anthologies of cankam poetry, I translate and analyze poems from the Pur̲anān̲ūru, Aiṅkur̲un̲ūru, Kur̲untokai, Akanān̲ūr̲u (ca. 1st century BCE to 4th century CE). From Śaiva bhakti literature, I focus on Māṇikkavācakar's Tiruvācakam. In reading from these texts, I trace the semantic continuity and interruption between the classical secular poetry and the medieval devotional poetry. I argue, among other things, that the cultural underpinnings of the concept remain intact as the term becomes incorporated in the technical vocabulary of Tamil Śaivism. The Śaiva authors were thus able to develop a new and unique style of religious literature that resonated with the cultural and literary past. / text

The subject of this dissertation is the life achievement of Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani (1923-1998). The study follows two tracks, one literary focused on the poetry and biography of the poet, and one historical focused on the concurrent political and social developments in the Arab world in the twentieth century. The two tracks contextualize and elucidate each other to form a mega-narrative of Arab life in modern times. The narrative begins by investigating the intellectual world in which Nizar grew up, continues on to examine his unique personal and familial makeup as well as the social and political context of the times, then proceeds to analyze his poetic achievement as it unfolded. In so doing, a picture emerges of the Arab experience in modern times as reflected in Nizar's own creative experience and tumultuous life.The narrative concentrates initially on Syria, more specifically on Damascus, being the birthplace and the breeding ground where the poet's character was first shaped. But once the poet leaves on his many journeys, a wider perspective is adopted to highlight the many other influences that ultimately went into his making, reverting back to Syria insomuch as it continued to influence the poet's unfolding narrative. Although a chronological line threads through the work starting from the poet's birth in 1923 to his passing in 1998, this line is accentuated throughout the life of the poet by the many places he lived in - cities that left their distinctive mark on his consciousness and poetry. As such, the mega-narrative, much like a journey, sets a background of progressive time against a foreground of places that give meaning to the timeline. In general terms, this study views the life of Nizar Qabbani in three interrelated and overlapping stages: a sensuous period (1923-52) that can be poetically described as local, direct, masculine, confident, and joyful; a period of social responsibility (1952-1973) that can be described as mixed, confused, itinerant, transvestite (both feminine and masculine), rebellious and conformist, happy and unhappy at the same time; and an exilic period (1973-1998): committed, feminine, rebellious, esoteric, melancholic and despairing.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Classical Languages and Literatures, March 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Regent College, 2007. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-155).

Inaug.-Diss.--Tübingen. / Lebenslauf. "Bibliographie": p. 47-49.

No description available.