Arabic Literature in the Post-Classical Period

The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature #5

by Roger Allen (Editor), D.S. Richards (Editor)

The final volume of the series explores the Arabic literary heritage of the little-known period from the twelfth to the beginning of the nineteenth century. Even though it was during this time that the famous Thousand and One Nights, was composed, very little has been written on the literature of the period generally and Roger Allen and Donald Richards bring together some of the most distinguished scholars in the field. The volume is divided into parts with the traditions of poetry and prose covered separately within both their 'elite' and 'popular' contexts. The last two sections are devoted to drama and the indigenous tradition of literary criticism.

492 pages, Hardcover

First published April 13, 2006

About the author

Roger Allen is an English scholar of Arabic literature. He has translated several Arabic works of literature into English, and has also written scholarly works on Arabic literature.

He was the first student at Oxford University to obtain a PhD degree in modern Arabic literature, which he did under the supervision of Muhammad Mustafa Badawi. His doctoral thesis was on Muhammad al-Muwaylihi’s narrative Hadith Isa ibn Hisham (Isa Ibn Hisham’s Tale), and was later published as a book titled A Period of Time (1974, 1992).

At the request of Dr Gaber Asfour, the Director-General of the Supreme Council for Culture in Egypt, he later prepared an edition of the complete works of Muhammad al-Muwaylihi (2002), and that of his father, Ibrahim al-Muwaylihi (2007).

In 1968, Allen moved from Bristol to Philadelphia to take up an academic position at the University of Pennsylvania, where he subsequently taught generations of students and Arabic scholars. He co-wrote an Arabic textbook with Adel Allouche, and was engaged with Arabic pedagogy throughout his career. After a 43-year career at UPenn, he retired in 2011, serving as chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations for the last six years.

As a translator, Allen has brought forth into English numerous works of contemporary Arabic literature, a list of which is given below. His translations of Naguib Mahfouz were instrumental in bringing the Egyptian writer to global attention, and Allen also played a critical role in the nomination process that eventually led to Mahfouz winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988.

Roger Allen was the first director of the Huntsman Program at the University of Pennsylvania along with Jamshed Ghandi.

Reviews

[AYAH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the title!!!! I'm soooo sick of people talking crap about pre-modern Arab culture and literature -_- عصر الإنحطاط is a myth created by nationalist Arabs trying to blame decadence on foreign hegemony of Ottoman Empire and orientalist Europeans who want to take credit for inspiring the hopeless Arabs to start Nahda!