Samarra' in Popular Culture
The metaphor of "Having an appointment in Samarra", signifying death, is a rare literary reference to a short story of unknown origin transcribed by W. Somerset Maugham. The story was titled 'The Appointment in Samarra', and subsequently formed the germ of the novel Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara. The original story was re-told in verse by F. L. Lucas in his poem 'The Destined Hour' in From Many Times and Lands (1953).
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