Les Arabes et l'art du récit: Une étrange familiarité

by Abdelfattah Kilito

In "Arabs and the Art of Storytelling," the eminent Moroccan literary historian and critic Kilito revisits and reassesses, in a modern critical light, many traditional narratives of the Arab world. He brings to such celebrated texts as A Thousand and One Nights, Kalila and Dimna, and Kitab al-Bukhala' refreshing and iconoclastic insight, giving new life to classic stories that are often treated as fossilized and untouchable cultural treasures.

For Arab scholars and readers, poetry has for centuries taken precedence, overshadowing narrative as a significant literary genre. Here, Kilito demonstrates the key role narrative has played in the development of Arab belles lettres and moral philosophy. His urbane style has earned him a devoted following among specialists and general readers alike, making this translation an invaluable contribution to an English-speaking audience.

Genres: Nonfiction, Theory

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2009

About the author

See also عبد الفتاح كيليطو

Abdelfattah Kilito is a well known Moroccan writer. He was born in Rabat in 1945. He is the author of several books in Arabic and in French. He has also written articles for magazines like Poétique and Studia Islamica. Some of the awards Kilito has won are the Great Moroccan Award (1989), the Atlas Award (1996), the French Academy Award (le prix du Rayonnement de la langue française) (1996) and Sultan Al Owais Prize for Criticism and Literature Studies (2006).

Reviews

[Kathleen McKim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will be very helpful for English-only readers who want to know more about the archetypes and motifs found in Classical Arabic narrative literature. The essays included focus mainly on the literature during the high point of Islamic culture in the West, from the Umayyad caliphate to the Almoravids, whose empires extended into nearly the entire Iberian peninsula which was then known as Al-Andalus. Most importantly, Kilito gives us insight into the interplay and exchange of ideas between the Greek philosophers, Islam, and later Christian and secular writers. The 14 essays included are clearly named and will be specifically helpful to students researching in this field. However, the essays are also of general interest to anyone who would like to become more familiar with various forms of Arabic literature just for her own edification.

[غبار · Rating 3 out of 5]

"But what seems to irritate him the most is that he can no longer bestow any gifts. Power can be equated with the ability to give generously and thus to assure oneself of other people’s obeisance. Generosity is not a quality of the soul, as poets claim, but rather a means of dominance. No longer being able to give implies no longer having power. Nevertheless, he continues to deceive himself by acting as if he were still able to display largesse. (...) In Aghmāt, he gives twenty gold pieces to the poet Ibn al-Labbāna, who thoughtfully refuses them. Although al-Mu‘tamid appreciates this tactful gesture, he is nevertheless offended, for he sees reflected in it his loss of power. It might also be appropriate to interpret in this same sense the many poems in which he speaks about his chains (qayd). To be in chains is to be immobilized, but also no longer able to give. The hand of al-Mu‘tamid is tied not by greed, but by destitution; he is unable to open it."

—Al-Mu'tamid's Dahr, p88-9

[Gokhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neden okumali: Araplara ön yargıyı kaldırmak için.

Kitap arap edebiyatının Binbir Gece Masallarından ibaret olmadığını; bu kitabı ve Kelile ve Dimne, Kitab el-Bukhala gibi ünlü metinleri ilgi çekici ve sürükleyici bir şekilde anlatıyor.

Kitap Hariri, İbn Hazm, Cahiz, ibn-Tufeyl gibi bir çok yazarı tanımamı sağladı, ayrıca araştırmalık bir çok konu başlığı çıktı. Özellikle bende Kelile ve Dimne’yi okumak isteği uyandırdı. Batı edebiyatının etkilendiği noktaları ve Arapların şiire verdiği önemi de kitapta yakalıyoruz.

Sultanların kendilerini öven kitaplar yazdırması ve başka medeniyetlerin eline geçmesin diye halka sunulmayıp vazgeçip sadece sultanın erişebildiği kitaplığa kaldırılması gibi çok ilgi çekici konular var.

“Nihayetinde görünüşte basitmiş izlenimi veren Kelile ve Dimne'nin sırlarını aydınlatmak için bir ömür gerekir. Şifrelenmiş öğretisini ancak derinlemesine bir çalışma ortaya çıkarabilir.”

“Batı Edebiyatında övüp övüp bitiremediğiz kitapların birer çalıntı çıkması hiç şaşırtmadı(örneğin Cahiz-cimriler kitabı).”

[Mehmet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okudukça zihin açan, hikaye anlatma sanatının baskın Batı düşüncesine karşın Orta Doğu ve Kuzey Afrika'da nasıl işlediğini anlatan çok keyifli bir kitap. Popüler Arap metinlerinin yaratım ve etkileyiş şekillerini öğrendikçe geniş bir coğrafyaya yayılan Arap toplumlarında hikaye üreten temel etmenleri daha kolay algıladım. Çevirmen çok başarılı bir iş çıkarmış.

[Usuyitik]

kitabın temel tezi, bir şiir medeniyetine sahip olan Arapların Batı'nın gözünde tahkiye ustaları olarak görülmesinin ilginçliğine değinerek, Arap dilinin önemli tahkiyeleri olan Binbir Gece Masalları ve Makameler üzerinden Arap edebiyatı üzerine bir kritik sunuyor.

yazarın clash of images'ını çevirseler de okusak.

[Siri Hsu]

這本書，從題目看來，本意是要談阿拉伯敘事藝術。結果最後卻到了我一個對阿拉伯文學近乎無知的人手上，並覺得它用來各重要作品的引路之書恰到好處、淺顯地介紹了相關聯的文學傳統，究竟是表示它寫的好還是寫的不好呢？另外東與西的對照感覺並不特別引人入勝⋯⋯