Ala-Uden & The Magic Lamp $12 (or $20 with 2 CDs, available from the author ordered by email)

ALAUDEEN PIX GENIEHere’s the classic tale of Ala-udeen (Arabic pronunciation, meaning The Glory of the Way) and the well-known genie (or jinn) in the magic lamp, with all its smoke-blasts of wondrous mystery, swift mind-boggling transformations, heartfelt love-longing for the princess of the sultan, innocent good versus evil (with good triumphant against black magicky dark forces), and in modern, narrative rhyming couplets for today’s readers. Everyone’s invited for this new version of the ancient Muslim wisdom story from The Arabian Nights (Alf Layla wa Layla), or A Thousand Nights and a Night, so well-known as part of global consciousness that all you have to do is say “the magic lamp,” and everyone knows what you’re talking about, blue smoke-emerging genies and “Your wish is my command!” — but presented here in a sparkling new rendition.
(2 CDs of the entire text read by the author ­- available direct from the author only)

Poem Selection from Ala-Uden & The Magic Lamp

Ala-Udeen & The Magic Lamp

Alaudeen & Magician1Ala-udeen, as his name goes,
woke up with a bang and threw off his bedclothes,
rubbed his eyes, then jumped out of bed,
put his pants on, wound his turban on his head
and ran downstairs to the marketplace
having said his prayers and washed his face.

China! What a day! Sun high
in the egg-white China sky
and all the trees loaded with birds
who sang like little silver whistles. Absurd
to be gloomy on a day like this.

Ala-udeen knew it was a day that could not miss
being special. He ran to the fruit-stall
and when he saw the apples, he wanted them all
but he had only a few pennies.
He dug down into his pant’s pockets, but couldn’t find any
more money. So he walked up to the fruit-seller
and said: “I’ll take that red one, and that bright yellow
apple, please, and here’s my money.
Bismillah!” The seller was a grump. Nothing ever was funny.

He picked up the apples and plunked
them in a bag. Ala-udeen clunked
the pennies down on the table
and turned to go back to his house in the donkey-stable.

 

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