Ahmad al-Tifashi
Born on 1184
Died on 1253
Ahmad al-Tifashi;
(or Ahmad ibn Yusuf al-Tīfāchī), born in Tiffech, a village near Souk Ahras in Algeria (1184- died 1253 in Cairo) was a Berber poet, writer, and anthologist, best known for his work A Promenade of the Hearts.
Little is known of al-Tifashi’s life. He appears to have lived mostly in Tunis, Cairo, and Damascus, although he may even have been nomadic. He was highly educated and cultured. He compiled A Promenade of the Hearts, a 12-chapter anthology of Arabic poetry and jokes about erotic and sexual practices, that featured both heterosexual and homoerotic entries with a bias towards the latter.
A French translation by René R. Khawam, based on an Arabic copy held in Paris, was published as Les Délices des cœurs par Ahmad al-Tifachi (1971 and 1981).
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