The Genius of Invective: Ibn Zaydūn’s Letter Explained
By Ibn Nubātah
Edited and translated by Peter Webb
New York University Press
ISBN: 9781479835874
Have you ever watched a deep dive into a movie where someone explains all the hidden details and Easter eggs? This is the medieval equivalent: a famous eleventh-century letter that later inspired one particularly detailed analysis written three hundred years afterward.
Excerpt:
For the past millennium, educated people across the Middle East have appreciated these stories as the pinnacle of culture and knowledge, and The Genius of Invective offered them a handy one-volume explanation of these classics. It was a one-stop shop for knowledge that anyone who aspired to become a someone in the Muslim world would want to learn.
Who is this book for?
This book contains two works. The first is The Frivolous Letter, which runs to about seven pages in translation. Written in eleventh-century al-Andalus, it features several well-known personalities and is an entertaining read on its own. Its lasting popularity inspired the second work, The Genius of Invective, written in fourteenth-century Egypt. Spanning more than 200 pages in translation, it unpacks the letter’s many references, explains the people mentioned, and clarifies difficult Arabic phrases. In many ways, it serves as an extensive guide to the original text, something dedicated readers would greatly appreciate.
Those interested in medieval Arabic literature will find much to enjoy in this volume. The Frivolous Letter section could also work well as university-level reading, as it remains an engaging and accessible text.
The Translator
Peter Webb is a University Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Arabic Literature and Culture at Leiden University.
The Genius of Invective: Ibn Zaydūn’s Letter Explained
By Ibn Nubātah
Edited and translated by Peter Webb
New York University Press
ISBN: 9781479835874
Have you ever watched a deep dive into a movie where someone explains all the hidden details and Easter eggs? This is the medieval equivalent: a famous eleventh-century letter that later inspired one particularly detailed analysis written three hundred years afterward.
Excerpt:
For the past millennium, educated people across the Middle East have appreciated these stories as the pinnacle of culture and knowledge, and The Genius of Invective offered them a handy one-volume explanation of these classics. It was a one-stop shop for knowledge that anyone who aspired to become a someone in the Muslim world would want to learn.
Who is this book for?
This book contains two works. The first is The Frivolous Letter, which runs to about seven pages in translation. Written in eleventh-century al-Andalus, it features several well-known personalities and is an entertaining read on its own. Its lasting popularity inspired the second work, The Genius of Invective, written in fourteenth-century Egypt. Spanning more than 200 pages in translation, it unpacks the letter’s many references, explains the people mentioned, and clarifies difficult Arabic phrases. In many ways, it serves as an extensive guide to the original text, something dedicated readers would greatly appreciate.
Those interested in medieval Arabic literature will find much to enjoy in this volume. The Frivolous Letter section could also work well as university-level reading, as it remains an engaging and accessible text.
The Translator
Peter Webb is a University Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Arabic Literature and Culture at Leiden University.
You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website.
You can buy this book on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
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