Annales Islamologiques 49: Dossier: Arabic Literature, 1200-1800: A New Orientation

The 49th issue of the Annales islamologiques includes a folder and varia, as was the case of the preceding issues. The folder is called Arabic Literature, 1200-1800: A New Orientation and was edited by Monica Balda-Tillier and Adam Talib. An introduction and six articles describe the renewed interest for Arabic literature in the post-classical age through comprehensive case studies. The literary production in that period was characterized by the persistence and vitality of literary genres pertaining to the most classical adab, notably poetry and maqamat, as well as by the rise of new genres such as epic literature or the shadow theatre, and by its opening to a broader audience. The articles explore little known authors, pieces of poetry that survived only because they had been embedded in a chronicle, minor genres such as treatises on love, subjects deemed marginal such as robbers or hashish; they reveal the creative vitality of a period eager to explore new topics as well as new forms. Four varia articles in French and Arabic complete this issue: three of them deal with Mediaeval history and geography, one with the grammar of contemporary Arabic.