An ethnographic study of Yemeni tribal poetry that reveals a folkloric system where poetry is a creation of art and a political and social act. Drawing on field research in North Yemen, it shows the significance of poetry in Yemeni society, analyzing verse genres and their use in weddings, war mediations, and political discourse on the state.
"Caton's study joins a brilliant ethnography of tribal poetic tradition with a discussion of central issues in anthropological thought."-Dale F. Eickelman, Dartmouth College
