Overview

Arabic prose poetry (al-shi'r al-manthur) is a controversial yet to date understudied literary genre. In this book, Nevine Fayek traces the origins of the genre by focusing on the works of 1930s Egyptian poets and the periodicals in which they published. She puts their work into the historical context of the development of Egyptian modernism and the Arab Nahda, using the private archives of poets such as poet Husayn 'Afif (1902 – 1979). In so doing, she reconstructs a network of relations between modernist intellectuals from different generations, social classes, educational backgrounds and political affiliations, who engaged with Arabic prose poetry to varying extents in their work. She makes the case that this movement has been largely overlooked in the critical and historical discourse, preventing it from receiving the recognition it rightfully deserves as part of modern Egyptian literature. She also reveals the complexity of Egyptian literary archives and what has been excluded from the ‘canon’.

Full Product Details

Author:   Dr Nevine Fayek
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   I.B. Tauris
ISBN:  

9780755655724

ISBN 10:   0755655729
Pages:   248
Publication Date:   23 July 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  

Table of Contents

Introduction Notes on Terminology Chapter I Al-Shi'r al-Manthur: Exploring Dynamics of Egyptian Cultural Memory The Private Archive of an Overlooked Prose Poet Al-Shi'r al-Manthur: Historical Beginnings Critical Approaches to Al-Shi'r al-Manthur Chapter II Historical Background: Conceptual Transformations from Nahda Practices into a New Cultural Field in 1930s Egypt Nahda Transitions and Conceptual Transformations 1.i. Rethinking Poetry 1.ii. Prose within New Practices of Journalistic Writing 1.iii. Impacts of the Act of Translation Manifestations of a New Cultural Field in 1930s Egypt 2.i. Poetry at Crossroads 2.ii. Poetic Innovation and the Question of Al-Shi'r al-Manthur Chapter III Al-Shi'r al-Manthur Between Canon and Archive Revisiting the Canon: Apollo on the Question of Al-Shi'r al-Manthur 1.i. Apollo on Artistic Freedoms 1.ii. Apollo on Al-Shi'r al-Manthur Traces from the Archive: Al-Imam and Adabi – Extensions of the Apollo Experience 2.i. Al-Imam (monthly, Alexandria: 1936–1937) 2.ii. Adabi (quarterly, Alexandria: 1936–1937) 2.iii. Around the Apollo Experience: Al-Shi'r al-Manthur in Al-Imam and Adabi Chapter IV Traces to the Forgotten and to Overlooked Literary Periodicals From Afif’s to Mahmoud Kamil’s Private Archive: Al-Jamia (weekly, Cairo: 1930–1945/48) 1.i. Al-Shi'r al-Manthur within Al-Jamia Al-Hadith (monthly, Aleppo: 1927–1959/1960) 2.i. Al-Hadith (The Modern): Modernist Literary and Critical Approaches 2.ii. Al-Hadith: Poetic Modernization and In-Prose Poetry Muhadarat Madrasat al-Shi'r al-Hadith (Lectures of the School of Modern Poetry) 3.i. Husayn Afif: “Al-Shi'r al-Manthur” 3.ii. Ahmad Khayri Said: “Risalat al-Shi'r al-Hadith” 3.iii. Ibrahim Naji: “Ittijahat al-Shi'r al-Hadith” 3.iv. Mahmoud Ahmad al-Hifni: “Al-Musiqa wa-l-Shi'r” 3.v. A Note on Tagore and His Prose Poems in Translation Chapter V Re-Contextualizing Al-Shi'r al-Manthur: Interrelations of the Avant-Garde Community within the New Cultural Field of 1930s Egypt Newly Formed Literary Groups Al-Madrasa al-Haditha: The Egyptian School of Modern Thought 2.i. Ahmad Khayri Said: School Principle of Al-Madrasa al-Haditha 2.ii. Narration Arts in Prose and Poetry and the Absence of Al-Shi'r al-Qasasi wa-l-Tamthili 2.iii. Destruction and Construction: Al-Madrasa al-Haditha and New Directions in Modern Criticism Conclusion 3. Drivers of Change in the New Cultural Field and Al-Shi'r al-Manthur Bibliography

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Author Information

NEVINE FAYEK holds a PhD from the University of Muenster. Her research focuses on the history of modern Arabic poetry. In addition to her academic work, she is a freelance translator.

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