'Abbasid Belles-Lettres

The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature #2

by Julia Ashtiany (Editor), T.M. Johnstone (Editor), J.D. Latham (Editor)

'Abbasid literature was characterized by the emergence of many new genres and of a scholarly and sophisticated critical consciousness. This volume of The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature covers the prose and poetry produced in the heartland and provinces of the 'Abbasid Empire from the mid-eighth to the thirteenth centuries A.D. Chronologically organized, the book explores the main genres and provides extended studies of major poets, prose writers and literary theorists. To make the material accessible to nonspecialist readers, 'Abbasid authors are quoted in English translation wherever possible, and clear explanations of their literary techniques and conventions are provided. The volume concludes with the first comprehensive survey of the relatively unknown literature of the Yemen to appear in a European language since the manuscript discoveries of recent years.

536 pages, Hardcover

First published March 30, 1990

Reviews

[Caracalla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of essays that basically covers what is considered one of the high-periods, a Golden Age of Classical Arab literature (i.e. not the stuff you got post the classical period or the stuff you get in Spain that is often very different to this literature). In many ways, a highly limited collection. Often essays are close to being compilations of poems in the genre or by the author in question which detracts from the quality and depth of their analysis but reflects (reasonably) both the unfamiliarity of these poets to Western scholarship and equally the difficulties in navigating their often large oeuvres. Some essays, particularly the essay on al-Ma'arri, might lend credence to the view that English-language writing on Arabic literature is in an early stage of development relative to English language writing on Greek, Latin, post-Classical European and English literatures; that essay simply gives us a lengthy biography, a cursory overview of his bibliography and then a highly biographical reading of this bibliography. A strength of this collection is its inclusivity, particularly in the essays on genre where relatively obscure poets are mentioned alongside the likes of Ibn al-Farid, Abu Nuwas, Al-Mutanabbi; there are even essays at the end on lesser known poets from particular regions, most notably Yemen where a less archly urbane poetry reminiscent of the pagan poetry of Imru al-Qays et al. seems to continue, strongly keyed into the tribal politics of the region. This is a strength relative to, say, Irwin's anthology of pre-modern Arabic literature which focuses more heavily on canonical texts.