Classical Arabic Literature: A Library of Arabic Literature Anthology: 5 - Softcover

Gelder, Geert Jan Van

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0814738265 ISBN 13: 9780814738269

Publisher: NYU Press, 2012

Synopsis

Title: Classical Arabic Literature <>Binding: Paperback <>Author: Geert Jan van Gelder <>Publisher: NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS

About this title

Review:

"Van Gelder's translations are pleasant and clear, which isno small feat, especially with poetry... A work that will be enjoyed by manyscholars and lay readers."

-Letizia Osti,Middle East Literatures

"The translations of this volume are a marvel, and often a tour de force–precise, highly readable and evocative, with the benefit of well-honed use of iambic and other rhythmic devices. Though Van Gelder reminds us that he is not a native English speaker, his English strikes me as no less superlative than, say, Nabokov’s mastery of the language."  -The National

“Promises to be an invaluable mine of knowledge for scholars and general readers who need an introduction to the universal appeal and validity of the enlightening and enlightened literary heritage of the Arabic-Islamic intellectual tradition.”-Journal of Islamic Studies

"Rangesover more than seven centuries, and flows with surprises and delights, achinglove poems and weird, cruel fables, and Thomas Browneian reflections on thenature of Flies, or the relations between mystics and elephants, allbeguilingly rendered and scrupulously commented."

-Marina Warner,Times Literary Supplement

“By and large, this volume, and indeed the entire series, promises to be an invaluable mine of knowledge for scholars and general readers who need an introduction to the universal appeal and validity of the enlightening and enlightened literary heritage of the Arabic-Islamic intellectual tradition.”-Journal of Islamic Studies

“Geert Jan van Gelder has strung for us an attractive set of pearls―well selected, handsomely presented, readably translated, and helpfully annotated to guide the reading public gently into the world of a very bibliophilic civilization.”-Peter Webb,Times Literary Supplement

“The perfect collection to launch the Library of Arabic Literature―of interest to the scholar, the student, and the general reader. Its coverage is excellent, both in terms of historical sweep and generic variety.”

-Richard Sieburth, Professor of Comparative Literature, New York University

"Van Gelder succeeds in maintaining a high standard for literary translation... This anthology is remarkable in its attention to the intricate patterns of meter and rhyme in Arabic poetry and in its combination of familiar and unfamiliar texts. Highly recommended."-Choice

"A welcome anthology of classical Arabic verse and literary prose... Van Gelder's selections have been wisely and aptly made, his translations are elegant, and the whole exercise has been illuminated by his distinguished erudition."-Review of Middle East Studies

About the Author:

Geert Jan van Gelder was Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford from 1998 to 2012. He is the author of several books on classical Arabic literature, including Beyond the Line: Classical Arabic Literary Critics on the Coherence and Unity of the Poem and Of Dishes and Discourse: Classical Arabic Literary Representations of Food.

About this edition

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0814738265
• ISBN 13: 9780814738269
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496