The Literary World of the North African taghrība: Novelization, Locatedness and World Literature

Laachir, Karima

Abstract

The novels by North African novelists Waciny Laredj, Majid Toubia and Abdelrahim Lahbibi that refashioned the traditional Arabic genre of the taghrība inspired by the medieval epic of Taghrība of Banū Hilāl, still a living oral tradition in the region, offer an interesting case-study of location in world literature. They circulate both within national (Algerian, Egyptian and Moroccan) literary systems and the pan-Arab literary field while maintaining a distinct aesthetic and political locality. In these novels, the literary life of the North African taghrība takes forms and meanings that are geographically and historically located and that are shaped by the positionality of the authors. This paper intervenes in the discussion on location in world literature from the perspective of Arabic novelistic traditions by showing that the pan-Arabic literary field itself is far from homogenous but is marked by a diversity of narrative styles and techniques that can be both local/localised and transregional at the same time. Therefore, we need to shift our understanding of world literature beyond macro-models of “world-system” that assume a universally shared set of literary values and tastes.

Citation

Laachir, K. (2019). The Literary World of the North African taghrība: Novelization, Locatedness and World Literature. Journal of World Literature, 4(2), 188-214. https://doi.org/10.1163/24056480-00402004

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 1, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jun 10, 2019
• Publication Date: Jun 10, 2019
• Deposit Date: Feb 22, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 22, 2019
• Journal: Journal of World Literature
• Print ISSN: 2405-6472
• Electronic ISSN: 2405-6480
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 188-214
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/24056480-00402004
• Keywords: taghrība, North African novel, Arabic literature, Waciny Laredj, Majid Toubia, Abdelrahim Lahbibi