Organizing Institution: Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center
Contact email: [email protected]
Start Date: June 14, 2022 (5:30pm)
End Date: June 14, 2022 (6:30pm EDT)
Cost: Free
Website: https://www.sqcc.org/event/a-riddling-classic-of-arabic-literature-al-hariris-maqamat/
1100 16th St NW – Washington – District of Columbia – United States
The Maqamat of al-Hariri is a collection of stories from the 12th century CE about a vagabond trickster who uses his riddles and eloquence to dupe and delight his audiences. Al-Hariri’s stories were written in ornately rhymed Arabic prose and were considered a classic for centuries. Scholars across the Islamic world studied the text intensively, wrote dozens of commentaries, and composed their own stories in emulation of al-Hariri. This talk explores the reception of the Maqamat through its commentaries. Why did this collection become so widely celebrated? And why did it fall rapidly out of favor in the 19th century when it came to be eclipsed in the canon by other texts? To answer these questions, this talk discusses the culture of reading, riddling, commentary, and interpretation that made the Maqamat a riddling classic.
RSVP using this link: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=jjfaurzab&oeidk=a07ej6uld5oaed0f0e0
1100 16th St NW
1100 16th Street Northwest
Washington , District of Columbia 20036 United States
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