
Sacred Places in Comparative (Post-)Colonial Writing
From Alexandria to Gondar
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published on 13. November 2025
Book
Hardback
192 pages
978-1-6669-7223-8 (ISBN)
Description
This book presents a distinctive viewpoint on the significance of sacred spaces in postcolonial literature while illuminating the diasporic narrative of regions often overlooked in Pan-African literary studies.
By challenging the main trends that have benefited countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, Rosanna Masiola and Matteo Baraldo bring together multiple faiths, literary genres, and narratives in diachronic and comparative critical perspectives from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Libya. Masiola and Baraldo focus on historical authors and the rise of contemporary writers in the diaspora from a cross-cultural and comparative perspective. By examining writers such as Ahmad Shawqi, Ibrahim al-Kuni, Sahle Sellassie, Nega Mezlekia, Maaza Mengiste, and Gabriella Ghermandi, this book seeks to connect the reader to a mystical dimension of diasporic postcolonial literature.
By challenging the main trends that have benefited countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, Rosanna Masiola and Matteo Baraldo bring together multiple faiths, literary genres, and narratives in diachronic and comparative critical perspectives from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Libya. Masiola and Baraldo focus on historical authors and the rise of contemporary writers in the diaspora from a cross-cultural and comparative perspective. By examining writers such as Ahmad Shawqi, Ibrahim al-Kuni, Sahle Sellassie, Nega Mezlekia, Maaza Mengiste, and Gabriella Ghermandi, this book seeks to connect the reader to a mystical dimension of diasporic postcolonial literature.
Reviews / Votes
An impressive literary achievement that embodies a questing spirit for ancient wisdom. It represents an important intellectual contribution to the discourse on mysticism, pilgrimage, memory and literary Afropolitanism. Original, immensely learned, eloquently written ... a profoundly deep understanding of existence. * Rajendra Chetty, Professor of Language Education, University of the Western Cape, South Africa *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
440 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-6669-7223-8 (9781666972238)
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
Other editions
Additional editions

Rosanna Masiola | Matteo Baraldo
Sacred Places in Comparative (Post-)Colonial Writing
From Alexandria to Gondar
E-Book
11/2025
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€82.49
Available for download

Rosanna Masiola | Matteo Baraldo
Sacred Places in Comparative (Post-)Colonial Writing
From Alexandria to Gondar
E-Book
11/2025
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€82.49
Available for download
Persons
Rosanna Masiola is a retired professor of English, translation, and Anglo-American literature at the University for Foreigners of Perugia.
Matteo Baraldo is Senior Research Officer in the School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Essex.
Matteo Baraldo is Senior Research Officer in the School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Essex.
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Sacred Places and the Lament for Destruction
Rosanna Masiola and Matteo Baraldo
Chapter 1
Ahmad Shawqi's 'The Passion of Cleopatra': From Egypt to Egypt
Rosanna Masiola
Chapter 2
The Libyan Desert and Colonial Invasions
Rosanna Masiola
Chapter 3
Ethiopia, The Matrix of Mystery: Writing Worlds
Rosanna Masiola
Chapter 4
The Gondar Empire and its Spiritual Legacy
Matteo Baraldo
Conclusion
Geographies of the Sacred: From Landscapes to Heritage
Rosanna Masiola and Matteo Baraldo
Index
Introduction
Sacred Places and the Lament for Destruction
Rosanna Masiola and Matteo Baraldo
Chapter 1
Ahmad Shawqi's 'The Passion of Cleopatra': From Egypt to Egypt
Rosanna Masiola
Chapter 2
The Libyan Desert and Colonial Invasions
Rosanna Masiola
Chapter 3
Ethiopia, The Matrix of Mystery: Writing Worlds
Rosanna Masiola
Chapter 4
The Gondar Empire and its Spiritual Legacy
Matteo Baraldo
Conclusion
Geographies of the Sacred: From Landscapes to Heritage
Rosanna Masiola and Matteo Baraldo
Index