Criticism is not always a secondary word about a primary one. Rather, it can possess the ecstasy of the primary word itself, its refreshing pleasure for the self and others. It contains aesthetics that transcend the familiar critical discourse, becoming a special activity that scrubs the rust off language and carves its own distinctive paths to become, in a sense, a creative act that provides us with awareness, joy, and knowledge.

In these essays and studies, Ali Jaafar Al-Allaq attempts to navigate life as texts and texts as a life within language: from the brilliant rise of Jabra Ibrahim Jabra to his tragic, meaning-laden decline; through Al-Sayyab in his peaks and falls; then Sargon Boulus, Mohammed Afifi Matar, and Amjad Nasser in their unconventional poetry. Finally, we encounter Al-Jawahiri's aesthetics, sought in the ruggedness of speech and the wrath of the soul, and then Al-Bardouni, at whose hands the classical poem suffered immensely, as he constantly thrust it into unfamiliar subjects, styles, images, metaphors, and aesthetics it could not accommodate.

• Subject: Arabic Language and Literature
• Year of Publication: 2020
• Author: Dr. Ali Jaafar Al-Allaq
• Publisher: Dar Fadaat
• Edition: First
• Number of Pages: 158
• Language: Arabic