Join Professor James Montgomery in the Graham Storey Room at Trinity Hall as he talks about his new book, War Songs.

War Songs is a selection of poems taken from the Epic of ‘Antar, translated into English for the first time. It is the story of outcast turned warrior and poet ‘Antarah ibn Shaddad. ‘Antarah was shunned from his community, and, not being fully Arab, had to fight to gain the recognition of his father and tribe. He fought fiercely to defend his people, win their recognition and gain the woman of his dreams, ‘Ablah. ‘Antarah carefully documented his epic story, in which love and tenderness reside alongside blood-curdling violence, resulting in collection of verse that originates from the highlands of Najd on the eve of the rise of Islam, and which has inspired the Arabic world for generations.