THE WOMAN WRITER, by Terez Awad Basbous (Beirut: Privately Published, 1993, 128 pp). The author, a Lebanese poet, produces a novelist text of mostly free writing, full of linguistic delirium and free association of ideas. It is a text that violates conventional literary standards.

THE SEARCH FOR METHODOLOGY IN MODERN ARAB CRITICISM, by Sayed al Bahrawi (Cairo: Dar Sharqiyyat, 1993). The author, who, according to an Al Ahram review, touches upon a critical aspect of modern Egyptian thought, calls for an original methodology. The book includes a methodological evaluation of some of the Arab world's most celebrated writers during the last half century, including Abbas al Aqadd, Ibrahim al Mazini, Taha Hussein, Louis Awad, and Muhmud Amin al Alem.

KAMAAT AL NAKHEEL: A STUDY OF SAADI YOUSEF'S POETRY (Beirut: Dar al Manahel, 1993). The prolific author adds one more to his more than thirty books. This one is about an Iraqi poet, Saadi Yousef, covering the period from 1951 to 1992. But Saber Saad, who reviewed the book for Al Hayat newspaper, hardly finds anything positive to say about Kamaat al Nakheel. He contends that the book is full of misinformation and inaccurate statements about Iraqi poets, specifically classical ones.

WHICH SNOW FALLS PEACEFULLY, by Rashid al-Daeef (Beirut: Dar Mukhtaraat, 1993). This is a collection of poems and various texts written by a Lebanese novelist and poet.

THE OPPORTUNIST--THE AGE'S HERO IN THE MODERN ARABIC NOVEL, by Muhammad Azam (Damascus: dar al-Ahali, 1993). The phenomenon of Al Fahlawi [friendly description of opportunist] is studied and compared with its counterpart in Western literature. The phenomenon is also surveyed in classical and modern Arabic literature.

POETRY AND POETICS, by Muhammad Lutfi al-Yusefi (Tunis: Al Dar al-Arabiyya lil Kitab, 1993). The author, a noted Tunisian critic, has achieved recognition after his book, About the Structure of Contemporary Arabic Poetry. In this work, Al Yusefi offers a comprehensive reading of Arab philosophers and theoreticians of poetry and poetics. In the first section, the author examines the theory of poetry and the methods of reading the poetic text; in the second, he concentrates on the presence of Aristotle in Arab culture; in the third, he assesses the momentum and retreat in the theory of poetry among Arabs.

THE CHOICE OF LIFE, by Amal Mukhtar (Beirut: Dar al Adab, 1993). This is a novel that talks about an Arab woman's experience in the West Germany. It involves culture, romance and sex.

TEACHERS IN ARABIC PROSE, by Amin Nakhle, researched and introduced by Michel Jiha (Beirut: Al Mu`assassah al-Jamia Lil Dirasaat wa al-Nashr, 1993). Selected at a much earlier time by the late Amin Nakhle, a prominent Lebanese literary figure, this collection of essays reproduces what qualify as genuinely classic texts. Treatises from the Umayyad period are by Imam Ali Ibn Abi Taleb and Abed al Hamid Al Kateb; from the Abbasid period are those by Al Jahez, Abi Al Faraj al-Asfahani, Ibn Khaldun, among others. From the enlightenment period, there are texts by Ibrahim al-Yaziji, Mustafa Lutfi al-Manfluti, Suleiman al-Bustani, Khalil Moutran, Shakib Arsalan, and others.

THE CYCLES OF THE EAST, by Nabil Suleiman, Vols. III & IV (Lazikia, Syria: Dar al-Hiwar, 1993). This is the third and fourth part of a historical novel that surveys the contemporary period of Syria's history socially, politically and economically. The novel uncovers and monitors the evolution of social relations during the recent historical period, according to Bou Ali Yassin, a Syrian historian.

LITERATURE AND MADNESS, by Shaker Abed al-Hamid (Cairo: Al Hay`at al-Amaat Liqusur al-Thaqafa, 1993). The causal link between literary creativity and madness has interested many scientists, and this book is an update of the literature on the subject. The author includes a historical review of the evolution of interest in the subject matter, providing a wealth of cases. In studying the phenomenon, the author draws the attention to two factors: the strength of the self and the ability of controlling emotions and ideas.

THE LAMPS OF THE SEA, by Ibrahim Abed al-Majid (Cairo: Dar Suad al-Sabah, 1993). This novel has strong political overtones, stressing the political defeats against Israel, the plight of the individual in Arab society, and the "voluntary ambivalence" of Arab society.

MY POETIC EXPERIENCE, by Abed al-Wahhab al-Bayati (Beirut: Al Mu'assassa al-Arabiyya lil Dirasaat wa al-Nashr, 1993). This is a reprint of 25-year old book by one of Iraq's most famous modern poets. The reprint includes a new introduction that links the past period and 1993.

THE IMPACT OF FREE MASONIC ON LEBANESE LITERATURE, 1860-1950, by Suheil Suleiman (Beirut: Dar Nawfal, 1993, pp 616). This is originally a doctoral thesis that examines the Masonic movement, its factions and constitution in Lebanon. Covered in the book is the movement's position on secularism and religious education, its impact on press, and their overall impact on the nationalist tendencies.

THE MAJESTY OF THE TREES, by Ali Bafqieh (Beirut: Al Mu'assassah Al Arabiyya Lil Dirassat wa al Nashr, 1993). This is a collection of poems by a Saudi poet who combines classical and modern methods in poetry writing.

ALL THIS BEAUTY AND EVERYTHING TENDER, by Muhammad Al Qaysi (Paris: Dar Al Mutanabi, 1993). Written by a Palestinian, this collection of poems is multifaceted, combining the musical, the colorful, the sad, the pleasant, and, importantly, the nostalgic.

CLOSING WINDOWS, by Ibrahim Abed Al Majid (Cairo: Mukhtaraat Fusul, 1993; 102 pp). This collection of nine short stories, integrate the romantic and the tragic with real life experience.

OH HERE YOU TIME: A POETIC AND CULTURAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY, by Adonis [Ahmad Said] (Beirut: Dar Al Adab, 1993; 192 pp.). In this collection of essays, most of which appeared in Al Hayat newspaper, Adonis reminisces about his personal history when he departed from Syria to Lebanon, talks about literary figures and friends like the late Lebanese poet, Yusuf Al Khal, and also about their collaboration in publishing Sh'ir monthly, the first Arabic publication that opened its pages to a new generation of poets who broke with the classical method of poetry writing.

THE ILLUSION OF BEGINNINGS: THE NOVELIST DISCOURSE IN JORDAN, by Fakhri Saleh (Beirut: Al Mu'assassah al Arabiyya lil Dirasaat wa al Nashr, 1993; 140 pp.) This book is about the novelist discourse in Jordan. In it, the author complains about the absence of critical and unapologetic analyses of conceptualizations of novelist writing.

ELEVEN PLANETS, by Mahmud darwish (Beirut: Dar al Jadid, 1992). Four poems make up this new collection. The highly celebrated Palestinian poet draws on Arab history in Spain and the discovery of America.

A DREAM'S ENVIRONMENT, by Muna Al Saudi (Amman: Dar al Mada, 1993). This book consist of poems and paintings. Introduction by the famous literary figure Jabra Ibrahim Jabra.

THE CRITICAL PERIOD, by Riyad Najib al Rayes, reprint (London: Dar al Rayes lil Kutub wa Nashr, 1965, 1993). This book was originally published 1965. In the Critical Period, Riyad al Rayes examines more than 45 books, the most important works which appeared in Arabic in the novel, poetry and literary criticism. That period, according to an interview with the author (conducted by George Jiha for Al Quds Al Arabi, February 4, 1993), was an enlightening literary age.

SUNRISE AND MOONSET, by Muhammad al Fayturi (cairo: Dar al Shuruq, 1993). Sunrise and Moonset are the names of two collections of poems by Al Fayturi.

THE PROBLEMS OF THE MIDDLE CLASS IN THE NOVELS OF NAJIB MAHFOUZ: FROM THE NEW CAIRO TO THE TRIO, by Atef Fadoul (Beirut: Dar Al Hamra, 1993; 143 pp). This work, born as a master thesis in 1970, argues that the small elements of the Egyptian middle class, namely civil servants, students and white collar workers, occasion a pivotal work in Mahfouz's literary world, thus making his novels a prime source of Egypt's social and political modern history.

TRAVELING ALONE AS A KING, by Mansour al-Rahbani (Beirut: dar al-Nahar lil Nashr, n.d.). This is a collection of poems, written between 1982 and 1988, by one of the best Lebanese musicians and song writers. Throughout the collection, the author reflects on his personal pain, especially the loss of his brother (also a musician and song writer), loneliness and the violence afflicting his country.

al@mashriq

Created 960617/ Last modified: Fri Jun 14 17:18:27 METDST 1996