![](http://static.cambridge.org/content/id/urn:cambridge.org:id:book:9780748692750/resource/name/9780748692750i.jpg)
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- Online publication date:
- September 2016
- Print publication year:
- 2014
- Online ISBN:
- 9780748692750
- Subjects:
- Islam, Religion, Religion: General Interest
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The 9th-century essayist, theologian and encyclopaedist Amr b. Bahr al-Jahiz 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 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-Jahiz's 'epistolary monographs'. By focussing on the varying ways in which he wrote to the addressee, Hefter shows how al-Jahiz hid his conversations on the page in order to guide (or manipulate) his actual readers and encourage them to engage with his complex materials. Key Features * Looks at letters from one of the most unique minds of the Abbasid era that cover sectarian and ethnic rivalries, ethical questions, intoxicating beverages and daily life *Relates al-Jahiz's experiments with the letter frame to his views on occupations, human geography and other issues of his day *Examines the role of self-parody in al-Jahiz's fictional conversations with his addressees *Explores the rich interplay of contending voices
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