Faces of the Infinite: Neoplatonism and Poetry at the Confluence of Africa, Asia and Europe
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English
Neoplatonism, the dominant philosophy of Late Antiquity, inspired not only the intellectual traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam but also their arts. Neoplatonic notions of the ascent of the soul, the nature of love and beauty, divine immanence and transcendence, and the interplay between the many and the One, have for centuries left comparable marks on the poetry of Western Asia, North Africa and Europe. This volume focuses on the Greater Mediterranean and discusses authors who wrote in Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Persian, Spanish and Turkish, from medieval times to the present day. Among them are many celebrated exponents of their respective classical traditions, including Dante, Ibn Arabi and Ibn Gabirol. Major contemporary poets writing in these languages have continued to engage with the Neoplatonic heritage assimilated by their forbears. Particular attention is therefore given also to the modern period. The findings gathered here demonstrate that Neoplatonism is a cross-cultural phenomenon of outstanding importance which has given rise to a distinct 'Neoplatonic poetics' and remains relevant by pointing the way towards an inclusive sense of identity commensurate with a pluralist world.
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Product Details
Weight: 874g
Dimensions: 163 x 240mm
Publication Date: 06 Jan 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication City/Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
ISBN13: 9780197267257
About
Stefan Sperl a graduate of Oxford (Arabic) and SOAS (PhD 1977) and former staff member of UNHCR (1978-88) is now Emeritus Professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at SOAS. His publications include articles on Arabic Islamic and Refugee Studies as well as Mannerism in Arabic Poetry: A Structural Analysis of Selected Texts (1989) Qasida Poetry in Islamic Africa and Asia (with Christopher Shackle 1996) and The Cosmic Script: Sacred Geometry and the Science of Arabic Penmanship (with Ahmed Moustafa 2014) which won the Iran Book of the Year Award (2016). His most recent publication is 'The Qur'an and Arabic Poetry' (The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies 2020). Yorgos Dedes's teaching includes courses on Ottoman and Modern Turkish language literature and culture. Since 2005 he has also been teaching at the Intensive Ottoman and Turkish Summer School in Cunda Turkey. His research interests focus on Ottoman literature and Turkish culture with special reference to frontier epic traditions and relations with Byzantium and Greece. Another area of interest is the aljamiado literature of the Greek- speaking Muslims of the Ottoman empire. Recent publications include a book chapter on Bursa in Europe: A Literary History edited by David Wallace (CUP 2015) an edition of the Greek aljamiado translation of Süleymân Çelebîs Mevlid-i nebî (Journal of Turkish Studies 2013) and an article on Ottoman poetry with Stefan Sperl (In the rose-bower every leaf is a page of delicate meaning: An Arabic perspective on three Ottoman kasides in Eski Edebiyat Çalismalari VIII Istanbul 2013).