Remapping Persian Literary History, 1700-1900

Kevin L. Schwartz is a research fellow at the Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, specialising in the literary history and culture of Iran and the Persianate world. He was previously a Kluge Fellow at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC and Distinguished Visiting Professor (Middle East Chair) at the US Naval Academy.

• DedicationAcknowledgementsNote on Transliteration and TranslationList of Maps, Figures and IllustrationsContents Introduction‘Literary Return’ as Literary NationalismCosmopolitanism, Canon, CommunityOragnisation of the Study Chapter 1. Remembering Iran, Forgetting the Persianate: Persian Literary Historiography of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries‘Literary Return’ and the ‘Indian Style’Iranian StoryAfghan LegacyThe Rise of the Durrani State and BidilismAn ‘Afghan Literary Return’?South Asian Stagnation The ‘New Munshi’ and Transition to EnglishB. Language Competition and the Rise of Urdu　Chapter 2. Reformation and Reconstruction of Poetic Networks, Isfahan ca. 1722-1801Disruptions and ContinuitiesConnections and NetworksPatronage and FormationConclusionChapter 3. A Market for the Masters, Afghanistan ca. 1839-1842Preparing for BattleRecounting the War: The War Ballad of ‘Ghulami’ and Oral CultureA Bazgashtian Tale? The Book of Akbar of Hamid Allah KashmiriPropaganda and Patronage: The Victory Book of Kabul by Qasim AliThe War-Ballad Marketplace ConclusionChapter 4. Debating Poetry on the Edge of the Persianate World, Arcot ca. 1850Pivot of Persian: The Life and Times of Muhammad Ghaws Khan ‘Aʿzam’Mapping Networks Writing RivalrySpeaking for Persian ConclusionConclusionBack MatterBibliography

This book takes a giant step, cogently arguing how the shared heritage of medieval Persian literary culture, that had once held together many literary communities over the vast expanse of the Eurasian landmass, began to break up, eventually leading to the emergence of divergent ideals and efforts through the 18th and 19th centuries.