
The Reader in al-Jahiz
The Epistolary Rhetoric of an Arabic Prose Master
Thomas Hefter(Author)
Edinburgh University Press
Published on 31. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-3995-6508-0 (ISBN)
Description
The 9th-century essayist, theologian and encyclopaedist 'Amr b. Ba?r al-Ja?i? has long been acknowledged as a master of early Arabic prose writing. Many of his most engaging writings were clearly intended for a broad readership but were presented as presented as letters to individuals. Despite the importance and quantity of these letters, surprisingly little academic notice has been paid to them. Now, Thomas Hefter takes a new approach in interpreting some of al-Ja?i?'s 'epistolary monographs'. By focussing on the varying ways in which he wrote to the addressee, Hefter shows how al-Ja?i? shaped his conversations on the page in order to guide (or manipulate) his actual readers and encourage them to engage with his complex materials.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 155 mm
Width: 232 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
436 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-3995-6508-0 (9781399565080)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Thomas Hefter is Lecturer of Arabic at Princeton University. He earned his PhD in Classical Arabic Literature from the University of Chicago, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. He has taught at the American University in Cairo and the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Content
Introduction
The Addressee and the Occasion of Writing
Epistolary Confrontations and Dialectics of Parody
Undisclosed Origins and Homelands
Faulting Misers in the Introduction of Kitab al-Bukhala
Passive Addressee and Critical Reader in the Ab al-/Ibn al-Tawam Debate
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
The Addressee and the Occasion of Writing
Epistolary Confrontations and Dialectics of Parody
Undisclosed Origins and Homelands
Faulting Misers in the Introduction of Kitab al-Bukhala
Passive Addressee and Critical Reader in the Ab al-/Ibn al-Tawam Debate
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index