Rewriting the Poetic Inheritance: Tradition and Creative Testimony in Rashid Issa’s Prose Biography Rashdonius: My Poetic Identity

This study explores how the contemporary Jordanian poet Rashid Issa interrogates and reactivates the Arabic poetic heritage in his prose biography Rashdonius: My Poetic Identity. It examines the ancient poetic models that Issa consciously invokes—most notably Imru’ al‑Qays, Tarafah ibn al‑ ‘Abd, ‘Antarah, al‑Mutanabbī, al‑Ma‘arrī, and Ibn Sanā’ al‑Mulk—to articulate his position on poetry, the poet’s vocation, and the nature of poetics. Through a stylistic and aesthetic reading, the research analyzes Issa’s use of metaphor, extended imagery, and intertextual allusion as he engages in a critical dialogue with classical Arabic criticism on issues such as the magic and mysticism of poetry, its essence, and its relationship to nature and existence.  The article argues that Rashdonius functions as a modern “creative testimony” that both acknowledges and reshapes the inherited Arabic poetic canon. Issa’s prose biography reveals a poetic identity deeply rooted in classical tradition yet animated by contemporary sensibility and a commitment to modernity. By foregrounding this dynamic interplay between heritage and innovation, the study contributes to applied literary humanities, offering a model for reading contemporary Arab life‑writing as a site where aesthetic form, critical reflection, and cultural memory intersect.