إصدارات دار المفردات

An Anthology of Modern Saudi Literature

Saudi Arabia has changed beyond all recognition in the past few decades, and the country’s writers have been pre-eminent in grappling with the dilemmas, the cultural jarring and the identity problems thrown up by such an accelerated pace of change.

Byeond the Dunes opens up for the first time the diversity and richness of contemporary Saudi Arabia literature to an English-speaking audience in this uniquely accessible book. Mansour Al-Hazmi, Salma Khadra Jayyusi and Ezzat Khattab have put together a varied selection of poetry, short stories, novel extracts, memories and drama which provide a fascinating insight into the challenges and tensions of a culture that is striving to balance globalization and modernity with highly cherished traditional values.

The social dislocation experienced by Saudi Arabia finds vivid formal expression in the dramas included in this volume, which may surprise many Western readers with their bold experimentalism and surrealist elements.

Novelist Ahmad and Al-Siba’I, a more traditional writer, offers a reflective, humanistic response to the world, whilst poets such as Ghassan Al-Khunaizi, Ahmad Al-Mulla and Huda al-Faghfaq reflect both the rich stylistic heritage of Saudi literature and the new techniques and outlook of modern Arabic poetry.

Even when they are harking back to the vanished world of pre-modern Saudi Arabia, many of these writers reflect generational dialogues and an awareness of contemporary resonances. Beyond the Dunes places women’s voices firmly in the centre of the Saudi literary canon for the first time, reflecting the increasing preeminence of writers of writers such as Raja’ Alem, Qumasha Al-Ulayyan, Noura Al-Ghamdi and Fawziyya Abu Khalid. This ground breaking book provides an indispensable introduction to the thoughts, forms and expressions of one the most complex and fascinating of world literatures at a moment of pivotal transition.

Mansour Al-Hazmi is a Professor Emeritus of Arabic Literature at King Saud University. He has received several academic prizes and awards including the International Prize for Arabic Literature.

Salma Khadra Jayyusi received her Ph.D. from the University of London (SOAS), and has published several boks of her own writing, as well introducing numerous Arabs writers to the English-speaking world for the first time. She has received numerous awards for her pioneering work promoting the study of Arabic literature and culture abroad, including the Arab-American Writers Organization’s Edward Said Prize for Career Excellence in 2005.

Ezzat Khattab was previously Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Director of the Research Centre at King Saud University and is now Professor Emeritus of English Literature.

Dar Al-Mufradat for Publishing, Distribution & Research is an official agent in the region for I. B. Tauris Publishers