Limit this search to....

The Prose Poem and the Journal Shi'r: A Comparative Study of Literature, Literary Theory and Journalism
Contributor(s): Haider, Otared (Author)
ISBN: 0863723292     ISBN-13: 9780863723292
Publisher: Ithaca Press (GB)
OUR PRICE:   $62.96  
Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats
Published: March 2008
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Annotation: The journal Shi'r (1957-70) was a professional avant-garde monthly journal founded in Beirut by Yusuf al-Khal with a group of young poets and was dedicated to poetry and poetic studies. The journal supported poetic experimentation and became a centre of various types of cultural practice. In the course of time, the activities of the group that were linked to the journal were consolidated in what was called 'the Shi'r movement'. This book examines the ongoing debates about Shi'r which continued after its closure in 1970, and the growing tendency among Arab critics, intellectuals and ideologists to associate literary movements that pursued innovation and change, with the movement of modernity in the Arab World. Most of the writers who investigate and evaluate the practices and contributions of Shi'r define the prose poem as central to Shi'r's aspiration for cultural change, yet Arab critics who explore the works of the Shi'r group tend to treat the work of each writer as an individual ac
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Literary Criticism | Middle Eastern
- Poetry | Middle Eastern
- Literary Criticism | Poetry
Dewey: 892.71
LCCN: 2008278122
Physical Information: 1.3" H x 6.9" W x 9.6" (2.15 lbs) 344 pages
Themes:
- Cultural Region - Middle East
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
The journal Shi'r (1957-70) was a professional avant-garde monthly journal founded in Beirut by Yusuf al-Khal with a group of young poets and was dedicated to poetry and poetic studies. The journal supported poetic experimentation and became a centre of various types of cultural practice. In the course of time, the activities of the group that were linked to the journal were consolidated in what was called 'the Shi'r movement'. This book examines the ongoing debates about Shi'r which continued after its closure in 1970, and the growing tendency among Arab critics, intellectuals and ideologists to associate literary movements that pursued innovation and change, with the movement of modernity in the Arab World. Most of the writers who investigate and evaluate the practices and contributions of Shi'r define the prose poem as central to Shi'r's aspiration for cultural change, yet Arab critics who explore the works of the Shi'r group tend to treat the work of each writer as an individual accomplishment. Consequently, the journal was seen merely as a meeting venue and a medium for conducting individual experiments and pursuing personal careers. The group was also perceived as an insular gathering dominated by a competitive spirit, and by sectarian and political connections. Basing its analysis on the major writings about Shi'r and the prose poem in Arabic and English, the book seeks to demonstrate that these conventional methods of viewing the Shi'r project still breed misconceptions about the group and their writings and still affect adversely the studies of the Arabic prose poem. Taking as its basis recent groundbreaking writings on modern cultural and literary studies in general, and on studies of the prose poem in particular, the book will attempt to search for a new perspective to redefine the place of Shi'r and the prose poem within the battleground of Arabic modern poetry. About the author Dr Otared Haidar is a lecturer in Arabic studies at the Oriental Institute of the University of Oxford.