Book cover of The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492

Book description

Hebrew culture experienced a renewal in medieval Spain that produced what is arguably the most powerful body of Jewish poetry written since the Bible. Fusing elements of East and West, Arabic and Hebrew, and the particular and the universal, this verse embodies an extraordinary sensuality and intense faith that transcend…

Explore
Topics
Genres
When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Dream of the Poem as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Image of Hussein Fancy
Hussein Fancy
Author

Among the wonders of medieval Spain is the appearance of the first Hebrew secular poetry since Biblical times. In this masterful and unparalleled set of translations by Peter Cole, we witness the profound, pious, chauvinistic, and indeed, sensual traditions of secular poetry over centuries. A fusion of Arabic and Hebrew traditions, in and of themselves, these poems stand as a metaphor for the Jewish community itself as well as its dynamism and endurance under Muslim and then, Christian rule. 

From Hussein's list on capturing the paradoxes of medieval Spain.

If you love The Dream of the Poem...

Ad

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Want books like The Dream of the Poem?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Dream of the Poem.

Book cover of The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain Book cover of Communities of Violence: Persecution of Minorities in the Middle Ages Book cover of Medieval Iberia, Second Edition: Readings from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Sources Book cover of The Moor's Last Sigh Book cover of From Muslim Fortress to Christian Castle: Social and Cultural Change in Medieval Spain Book cover of The Lions of Al-Rassan

Browse books like The Dream of the Poem

Book cover of The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain
Book cover of Communities of Violence: Persecution of Minorities in the Middle Ages
Book cover of Medieval Iberia, Second Edition: Readings from Christian, Muslim, and Jewish Sources

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,212

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Share my 3 favs
Ad

📚 If you like The Dream of the Poem, you might also like...

Book cover of Pinned

Pinned by Liz Faraim,

“Rowdy” Randy Cox, a woman staring down the barrel of retirement, is a curmudgeonly blue-collar butch lesbian who has been single for twenty years and is trying to date again.

At the end of a long, exhausting shift, Randy finds her supervisor, Bryant, pinned and near death at the warehouse…

Book cover of Reddy

Reddy by J L Wilson,

This is for those readers who like unusual settings and independent female characters in mid-life.

5 book lists we think you will like!