A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread– and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!— Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
The fall of the Ottoman Empire merely increased Western romance of North Africa and the Far East. Suddenly North America found itself fascinated by Ottoman and Eastern Indian arts, their literature, poetry, music, dance, architecture, fabric art, and painting. Americans were shown the beauty of the Taj Mahal and the depth of poet philosophers Omar the Tentmaker and Rumi.
Actual knowledge was imperfect, and artists of the day happily filled in gaps relying more on imagination than edification. By way of example, the humorous 1877 poem ‘Abdul Abulbul Amir’ enjoyed renewed popularity in 1940 and remained a staple in grade school education as late as 1960 or so. The poem, songs, and cartoon films relied on Ottoman and Russian caricatures.
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| Shéhérazade and Dunyazade entertaining Sultan Shahryar |
Roc On
Artists of the day wove Middle Eastern cultural memes and motifs into art nouveau, themes with flowing robes and diaphanous gowns, harems and hijabs, heroin and hookahs. Classical composers, including Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Schumann, found the tales of Shéhérazade (Scheherazade) irresistible.
She and her often overlooked sister, Dunyazade, inspired other storytellers, playwrights, and filmmakers. With her stories within a story featuring Aladdin, Sinbad, Ali Baba and his clever sister Morgiana, she’s my candidate for finest storyteller of all time. Certainly she was motivated… her life depended upon her storied skills.
SciAm
Scientific American, founded in 1845, is our Western Hemisphere’s longest, continually published magazine. Reading the June issue, I unexpectedly came across an article on writing, leading with a history of Shéhérazade.
The thrust of the piece, ‘The Power of Storytelling’ (pp.78-79) contends writers (a) live longer and (b) more readily find meaning in life, which they refer to as a ‘why’ mindset, why as opposed to how.
Reading between the lines suggest internalizing ((b), finding purpose in life), reduces stress and increases interest in the world around us, boosts ((a), longevity). Researchers further posit storytelling benefits introverts, building a platform to express themselves and expanding social ties.
Emphasizing why is more important than how, study author Ron Shachar indicates two skills necessary for writers.
- Linking events together in a cohesive, coherent manner, i.e, connecting the plot dots.
- Seeing the world through the eyes of others, understanding the ‘why’ motives of characters in a story.
That brings us back to Shéhérazade, a storyteller who not only understood her characters, she fathomed her Audience of One. After all, her life depended upon it.
