The Arabic Prose Poem

There is no doubt that this study will be invaluable for students and scholars whose works and interests directly engage with the Arabic prose poem in particular and Arabic poetry in general. -- Jonas Elbousty * Comparative Literature *
Huda Fakhreddine has given us a splendid apologia of modern Arabic poetry’s decisive step into the future. Her impeccable critical voice brims with validating avant-garde conviction as she reveals the fascinating drama of a series of tensing manifestos of a new Arabic poetic modernism. The Arabic Prose Poem will remain as a milestone in Arabic literary critical studies. * Jaroslav Stetkevych, Professor Emeritus of Arabic Literature, The University of Chicago *
Fakhreddine’s study provides a unique and thought-provoking insight into an eminently important chapter of Arabic literature. [...] The book is essential reading for anyone concerned with modern Arabic literary history and culture. -- Stefan Sperl * Journal of Arabic Literature *
In Arabic poetry, the recent turn to the prose poem is more than a merely generic choice.　 It is, as Huda Fahkreddine so convincingly argues, a way of opening a new space where poetic and extra-poetic imperatives are able to intersect. From the early manifestos of Adonis to the seminal poetics of Mahmoud Darwish, to the recent prose poetry of the Lebanese Wadi Sa’adeh, the Arabic prose poem is shown to be a form that challenges both traditional lyric modes as well as the non-Arabic Other. Anglophone readers have much to learn from this groundbreaking study. * Marjorie Perloff, author of Unoriginal Genius: Poetry by Other Means in the New Century. *