Join us as we interview translator and scholar of Arabic literature Roger Allen on our afikra Conversations series.
Date: Thursday, January 13
Time: 12PM NYC | 5PM London | 7PM Beirut | 9PM Abu Dhabi
Hosted By: Mikey Muhanna (afikra)
Bio: Roger Allen obtained his doctoral degree in modern Arabic literature from Oxford University in 1968, the first student to obtain a doctoral degree in that field at Oxford, under the supervision of Dr. M.M. Badawi. The topic of the dissertation was a study (and English translation) of Muhammad al-Muwaylihi’s renowned narrative, Hadith `Isa ibn Hisham (`Isa Ibn Hisham’s Tale); it was later published in book form as A Period of Time. In the late 1960s Roger Allen began to concentrate his research on modern Arabic fiction. He began by translating a collection of short stories by Naguib Mahfouz, God’s World, that being the collection mentioned in the published citation of the Nobel Literature Prize Committee in 1988. His research interests have focused on a number of issues within the broader field of Arabic literature: the problems of evaluation of literary works within the complexities of a post-colonial situation; the urgent need to rewrite the literary history of most regions of the Arab world to reflect new understandings concerning the relative significance of different cultural trends; and the status of the fictional genres in the Arab world in the new era of alternative means of publication and indeed new “media”.
This event is being videotaped for subsequent broadcast on the library website and other media. The audience is encouraged to offer comments and raise questions during the formal question and answer period, but please be advised that your voice and image may be recorded and later broadcast as part of this event. By participating in the question and answer period you are consenting to the possible reproduction and transmission of your remarks.