TY - BOOK ID - 3459375 TI - The reader in al-Jahiz : the epistolary rhetoric of an Arabic prose master AU - Hefter, Thomas AU - Edinburgh University Press PY - 2014 VL - *1 SN - 9780748692743 9780748692750 0748692754 9781306892001 1306892007 0748692746 1474400965 9781474400961 PB - Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press DB - UniCat KW - Books and reading KW - Arabic literature KW - LITERARY CRITICISM KW - Arabic literature. KW - Books and reading. KW - Intellectual life. KW - Technique. KW - History and criticism KW - African. KW - Jāḥiẓ, KW - Criticism and interpretation. KW - 750-1258. KW - Islamic Empire KW - Islamic Empire. KW - Literary criticism KW - Appraisal of books KW - Books KW - Choice of books KW - Evaluation of literature KW - Literature KW - Reading, Choice of KW - Reading and books KW - Reading habits KW - Reading public KW - Reading KW - Reading interests KW - Reading promotion KW - History and criticism. KW - Appraisal KW - Evaluation KW - Jāḥiẓ, KW - Abou Othman Amr ibn Bahr al-Djahiz de Basra, KW - Abu Osman Amr ibn Bakhr alʹ-Basri alʹ-Dzhakhiz, KW - Abū ʻUthmān ʻAmr bin Baḥr al-Fuqaymī al-Baḥrī, KW - Abū ʻUthman ʻAmr ibn Baḥr al-Jāḥiẓ, KW - Cāḥiẓ, Ebū ʻOs̲mān ʻAmr bin Baḥr, KW - Djâh̲iz̲, KW - Dzhakhiz, KW - Ebu Osman Amr bin Bahr bin Mahbub bin Fezâre, KW - Ǧāḥiẓ, KW - Jahidh, Amr ibn Bahr, KW - Jāḥiẓ, Abū ʻUthman ibn Baḥr, KW - Jāḥiẓ, ʻAmr ibn Baḥr, KW - Ŷāḥiẓ, KW - أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الجاحظ KW - الجاحظ KW - الجاحظ ، عمرو بن بحر KW - الجاحظ، KW - الجاهظ KW - جاحظ KW - جاحظ، KW - جاحظ، عمرو بن بحر KW - جاهظ KW - حاحظ KW - عثمان عمر و بن بحر KW - عمرو بن بحر الجاحظ KW - غازي UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:3459375 AB - 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 ER -