Contemporary Arabic Literature

Reuven Snir is Professor of Arabic Language and Literature at the University of Haifa. His most recent books in English include Arab-Jewish Literature: The Birth and Demise of the Arabic Short Story (Brill, 2019), Modern Arabic Literature: A Theoretical Framework (EUP, 2017), Baghdad ― The City in Verse (Harvard University Press, 2013) and Who Needs Arab-Jewish Identity? (Brill, 2015).

• Preface Acknowledgments Technical Notes Notes on TransliterationIntroduction PART I HERITAGE, MYTH, AND CONTINUITY1. Topos: Mundus Inversus Introduction “Son Turns against His Father” “Tail Above the Head” “Refusal Will Be a Virtue” Conclusion 2. Challenge: The al-Andalus Experience Introduction “Al-Andalus Arising from Damascus” “The Guitar Is Aflame” “I Am One of the Kings of the End” Conclusion 3. Glory: Baghdad in Verse Introduction “Metropolis of the World” The Golden Age 1258 and Beyond Conclusion 4. Religion: “I Saw My God”Introduction Poetry and Mysticism Silence and Speech “Elegy for al-Ḥallāj”Conclusion PART II EAST, WEST, AND WORLD LITERATURE5. Self-Image: Between “Decadence” and Renaissance Introduction Extension or Break? Target Literature Source Literature Conclusion 6. Existentialism: The Frightened Mouse Introduction “A Little Fable” “Strippings” “For Thine is the Kingdom” Conclusion 7. Reception: Stream of Consciousness Introduction “Unrestrained, Unorganised Movements of the Mind” “In Me Too the Wave Rises” “What a Shame to Sit Indoors!” Conclusion 8. Import: Science Fiction Introduction Translation and Adaptation Original SF Canonization Conclusion Epilogue: Arabic Literature and World LiteratureReferences Index

Arabic literature, Snir notes, has been radically transformed since the mid-19th century, with modern genres, themes of decadence and inversion, translations of Western literature, and even science fiction and internet writing. Yet he argues convincingly that serious literary standing requires familiarity with all historic levels of Arabic writing. [...] Recommended.