Join us October 28th to hear Lara Harb discuss her new book, Arabic Poetics: Aesthetic Experience in Classical Arabic Literature (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020). Focusing on Chapter One of her book, entitled “Wonder: A New Paradigm,” Harb argues that a new aesthetic paradigm started to emerge around the turn of the 5th/11th century CE that centered on the ability of poetic language to evoke an experience of discovery and wonder in the listener. This represents a major paradigm shift from earlier Arabic criticism, whose evaluation of poetry was founded on criteria of truthfulness and naturalness.

Learn more about the Adab Colloquium at MEI here.

If you are interested in attending this event please RSVP below.