Poetic modernity in the Arab world was closely connected to ideas emerging during the nahda (Arab renaissance, 1850s–1950s) and the emerging discourses on modernity and authenticity that raised the question of women's status in the new society. By the 1940s, two opposing poetic genres emerged, each positioned in a different world and claiming allegiance to a diverse literary authority. The neoclassical poetry that sought inspiration in the rich Arabi…