'Attar's Affliction: Sufism and Allegory in the Global Middle Ages

FAIN: RQ-286945-22

University of North Carolina, Charlotte (Charlotte, NC 28223-0001)
William Edward Sherman (Project Director: December 2021 to present)

Preparation to publish an annotated translation from Persian into English of The Divine Tragedy (Musibat-Nameh) by Farid al-Din 'Attar (c. 1142 - c. 1221), a Sufi poet who lived in Nishapur, Iran. (12 months)

This translation offers the first English rendition of Farid al-Din 'Attar's The Divine Tragedy ("Musibat-Namah"), a text that has remained inaccessible to non-Persian audiences despite the tormented beauty of its verses, its significance in Persian and Sufi literary history, and the way it positions us to expand the horizons of our literary theorizing and embrace a more global middle ages. Composed circa 1180 CE, the epic poem guides readers through the sufferings that God subjects upon spiritual pilgrims. The Divine Tragedy is also an exploration on the nature of language and a deft reflection on "allegory" as the framework to understand not just a literary genre but Islamic conceptions of the relationship between an individual and his or her experience of the world as a tumultuous mess of matter, flesh, spirit, and deception. A critical translation is necessary to pursue these themes and share the richness of ''Attar''s work.