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Arabic literature

Welcome! This guide focuses on useful sources for the study of classical and contemporary Arabic literature. It is tailored to the courses offered by the McGill Institute of Islamic Studies.

Available at McGill

  • Al-Adb / الادب is an Arabic literature history and criticism journal founded in 1956 by the Egyptian philologist and literary critic, Amin al-Khuli (died 1967). Print resource.

  • Adab wa-naqd / أدب ونقد is an Arabic literature history and criticism journal published in Egypt. Print resource.

  • Alif: Journal of comparative poetics is a multilingual journal published annually, featuring original scholarly articles in Arabic, English, and occasionally French. Each multidisciplinary issue is dedicated to a specific theme.

  • Arabic & Middle Eastern Literatures addresses questions of study and interpretation of the literatures of the pre-Modern & Modern Middle East.

  • Banipal : magazine of modern Arabic Literature was founded 17 years ago by the British publisher Margaret Obank and the Iraqi author Samuel Shimon (born 1956). It showcases established and emerging Arab writers through poems, short stories or excerpts of novels, and features interviews with authors, publishers and translators, book reviews and photo-reports of literary events. Print resource.

  • Comparative Literature draws on a variety of theoretical and critical approaches, the journal represents a wide-ranging look at the intersections of national literatures, global literary trends, and theoretical discourse.

  • Edebiyat: Journal of Middle Eastern Literatures

  • Forum for World Literature today gives access to articles, essays and criticism on recent belles lettres in all the major and many of the minor languages of the world, short articles on contemporary writers and literary movements. Electronic resource.

  • Journal of Arabic Literature publishes literary, critical and historical studies, as well as reviews and bibliographies, on a broad range of Arabic materials, including classical and modern, written and oral, poetry and prose, literary and colloquial. Electronic resource.

  • Majallat al-Adb (مجلة الآداب) was created in 1953 by the Lebanese novelist Suhayl Idris (1925-2008), and is today considered a leading literary journal. Print resource.

  • Majallat Jāmiʻat Umm al-Qurá li-ʻulūm al-sharīʻah wa-al-lughah al-ʻArabīyah wa-ādābihā (مجلة جامعة أم القرى لعلوم الشريعة واللغة العربية وآدابها), the journal of Umm al-Qura University for Islamic knowledge (shari'a) and the Arabic language and literature  was first published in 2001. Text in Arabic; summaries in Arabic and English. Print resource.

  • Majallat Kulliyat al-Adb  (مجلة كلية الآداب), founded in 1943, is the Bulletin of the Faculty of Arts of Alexandria University. If most articles are in Arabic, each volume has a "European Section" in English, with some text in French. Print resource.

  • Al-Mawqif al-adab (الموقف الأدبي) is the magazine of the Arab writers Union in Damascus, Syria. Text in Arabic. Print resource.

  • World Literature Studies provides a forum to promote diversity in world literature,with a particular interest in the study of literatures of those neglected countries and regions. Publishes original articles on topics including theoretical studies, literary criticism, literary history and cultural studies, as well as book review articles. Electronic resource.

Open Access

Al-Karmal (الكرمل), the Carmel cultural Foundation magazine was first published in 1981 by the famous poet Mahmud Darwish (1941-2008). Since then, it has been offering a platform for cultural and literary exchanges between the Arab World and the rest of the World. Al-Karmal discontinued in 2009 and published again under the new title of Al-Karmal Al-Jadeed (الكرمل الجديد) for two years of 2011 and 2012. Electronic resource.

The Archive alsharekh of Arab literary and cultural magazines (أرشيف الشارخ للمجلات الادبية والثقافية العربية) is an online archive of various resources such as journals, books, and articles from all over the Arab World.

al-Warraq (الوراق) is a repositary of classical Arab works in literature, history, fiqh, Kuranic studies, etc. Please note membership is required to access the library. Electronic resource.

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