Modern Arabic Literature In Translation: A Companion Review

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Modern Arabic Literature In Translation: A Companion ReviewThis book, by a professor from my undergraduate school of Indiana University, is a book of lists, annotations and brief essays on a topic little known beyond academic and specialised circles - modern Arabic literature in English translation. There are chapters devoted to fiction, drama, and poetry (with an appendix dealing with autobiographies and memoirs.
Altoma begins with a brief introduction showing the state of the discipline, beginning with quotes from others that highlight the difficulties; for example, 'Arab literature is still largely the preserve of Middle Eastern specialists. It has not come out of the ghetto.' (Peter Clark) However, Altoma states that such feelings are more anecdotal than factual in basis. Still, there is a feeling (particularly among Arabs themselves) that Arabic literature is largely 'ignored, distorted or marginalised in the West.' Since 1947, however, a great deal has been done, and even more so since 1988 when Mahfuz won the Nobel Prize for literature.
Altoma devotes the first chapter to Najib Mahfuz, who is the father of the novel in Arabic (he is likened to the landmark of the pyramids, such is his stature in Arabic literature). Mahfuz, a native of Egypt, combined Western education and literary techniques with Arabic traditions and synthesised a new art form. 'Being a religious and literary medium for more than fourteen centuries, Arabic admittedly does tax its own speakers with a legacy of problems,' according to Altoma. This is to say nothing of non-native speakers. However, while some were predicting the demise of Arabic as a primary langauge for many nations (including Egypt), others have pointed to figures such as Mahfuz as showing a means of survival.
Altoma presents bibliographic information for fiction in several ways - the primary list is chronological, cross-referenced by author, women authors, translators, titles, publishers, and country of origin. The poetry bibliographies include lists of anthologies as well as lists of Arabic poetry in international anthologies (this one intentionally a partial list). The lists of dramas and autobiographies/memoirs are much shorter, given the nature of these types of literature.
This is not a book one simply sits and reads. It is meant to be a companion, a study and research tool, and serves this function well. While any such book is quickly out of date in terms of keeping current, it still provides a very handy snapshot of the last half of the twentieth century in terms of Arabic literature of many kinds available in English translation.Modern Arabic Literature In Translation: A Companion OverviewThis indispensible guide to modern Arabic literature in English translation features not only a comprehensive bibliography but also chapters on fiction, drama, poetry, and autobiography, as well as a special chapter on Iraq's Arabic literature. By focusing on Najib Mahfuz, one of Arabic Literature's luminaries, and on poetry--a major, if not the major genre of the region-- Altoma assesses the progress made towards a wider reception of Arabic writing throughout the western world.

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