Arab literature as myth and adventure
I can hardly imagine what my life would be without classical Arab literature, which I hear as a voice of intimacy darkened with age. It is certainly a highly subjective perception. Be that as it may, it is for me a particularly intimate sphere of world literature. Classical Arab poetry is thus a part of my personal mythology. I am not the first scholar to treat it this way. On the contrary, the mythified Arabic verse (together with the Persian one) is a part of European intellectual history: the mythical quintessence of human poetic capacities. perhaps the precise point where the concept of World Literature arose, a gate on the border, a gush of wind bringing scents from afar. Perhaps it is only a distant echo of the importance Arabs themselves gave to their poetry, multiplied by erudite fashion. Be that as it may, it was strong enough to shape the persuasions of generations of literature scholars. It was thus a long-time aspiration to study those topics. I have read a lot, and written very little. Nonetheless, new texts are likely to appear in this section.
selected papers, essays, book reviews & more
From Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya's Rawdat al-Muhibbin to transcultural Arabic. The project of restoring the language of intimacy by Fatema Mernissi and its continuations
“Od Ogrodu kochanków Ibn Qajjima al-Dżawzijji do arabszczyzny transkulturowej. Projekt restytucji języka intymnego w pisarstwie Fatemy Mernissi i jego kontynuacje”, Literatury Azji i Afryki wobec problemów współczesności. Materiały XXXV Zjazdu Orientalistów Polskich, Warszawa, 16-17 XI 2015, Marek M. Dziekan, Agata Bareja Starzyńska (eds.), Warszawa, Dom Wydawniczy Elipsa, 2015, p. 175-188. ISBN 978-83-934631-5-2.
This paper presents a contemporary approach to the ancient codification of the varieties and stages of love that has developed in the context of the Arab-Muslim civilization. In the 1980s, in Morocco, a demand of renovation of this language of intimacy was put forward by Fatema Mernissi. She wished to contribute to the healing of problematic personal relationships. Maghrebian relationships, in her opinion, were strained by colonial violence. This is why she repeatedly returned to the idea of revnovating the vocabulary of love in her books. At present, it can be assumed that this idea has been widely adopted in the Maghreb and in other parts of the Arab world; what's more, it seems to have specific repercussions in European, or more broadly, western culture. The literary and intellectual inspiration of an old treatise defining 50 varieties of love resulted in artistic works and original editorial projects, as well as attempts at modernizing and developing the traditional "list" up to one hundred items. This new "dictionary of love", circulating widely in the world, appears in new editions and translations into various Western languages. The Arabic terms themselves, as well as their visual, calligraphic setting, remains unchanged throughout multiple translations. The Arabic vocabulary of love gained a transcultural validity.
| od_ogrodu_kochankow.pdf |
Around Wallada.
Poetry and love in Al-Andalus in the 11th c.
“Wokół Wallady. Poezja i miłość w Al-Andalus w XI wieku”, Nie tylko salon. Wspólnotowe formy życia literackiego, Ewa Łukaszyk, Krystyna Wierzbicka-Trwoga (ed.), Warszawa, DiG, 2016, p. 23-32. ISBN 978-83-286-0002-7
| wokol_wallady.pdf |
