
Writing Beirut
Mappings of the City in the Modern Arabic Novel
Samira Aghacy(Author)
Edinburgh University Press
Will be published approx. on 31. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-3995-6553-0 (ISBN)
Description
Exploring how writers utilise the spaces of the city - joining the factual with the imaginary - this book shows how idiosyncratic perceptions of Beirut are produced, generating an infinite number of Beiruts. The city emerges as interactive, dynamic and historical, a place that is created from the streets, buildings, and monuments as well as through performance and social interaction. By referring to factual places in Beirut, the novels produce a strong reality effect through a mimetic mode of expression. Simultaneously, these texts reveal that Beirut is an unstable locale that resists fixity and transparency, shifting between the real and imagined, and the quotidian and discursive.
Writing Beirut explores the city in 16 Arabic novels focusing on the urban/rural divide, the imagined and idealised city, the city through panoramic views and pedestrian acts, the city as sexualised and gendered, and the city as a palimpsest. While the book focuses on Beirut in Arabic novels, the introduction provides a thorough overview of Beirut in the modern Arabic novel.
Writing Beirut explores the city in 16 Arabic novels focusing on the urban/rural divide, the imagined and idealised city, the city through panoramic views and pedestrian acts, the city as sexualised and gendered, and the city as a palimpsest. While the book focuses on Beirut in Arabic novels, the introduction provides a thorough overview of Beirut in the modern Arabic novel.
Reviews / Votes
Samira Aghacy has once more provided us with a well-thought-out, brilliant discussion on the pertinent issues plaguing our part of the world. She has thus contributed in raising awareness with this new book, so carefully researched and written. It will no doubt have a great impact on the literary criticism field, as well as gender studies, war studies, and studies of the city. * Evelyne Accad, Professor Emerita, University of Illinois, and Lebanese American University *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-3995-6553-0 (9781399565530)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Samira Aghacy is Professor of English and Comparative Literature and interim Director of the Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World at the Lebanese American University. She is author of Masculine Identity in the Fiction of Arab East since 1967 (2009), and has published numerous articles on contemporary Arabic fiction. She also served for seven years (1997-2003) as editor of Al-Raida, a feminist peer-reviewed journal published by IWSAW.
Content
Introduction
The Rural/Urban Divide: Subverted Boundaries
The Rhetoric of Walking: Cartographic Versus Nomadic Itineraries
Sexualising the City: The Yoking of Flesh and Stone
Traffic between the Factual and Imagined: Beirut Deferred
Excavating the City: Exterior and Interior Relics
Inconclusive Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
The Rural/Urban Divide: Subverted Boundaries
The Rhetoric of Walking: Cartographic Versus Nomadic Itineraries
Sexualising the City: The Yoking of Flesh and Stone
Traffic between the Factual and Imagined: Beirut Deferred
Excavating the City: Exterior and Interior Relics
Inconclusive Conclusion
Bibliography
Index