LITERATURE, JOURNALISM AND THE AVANT-GARDE - read online

Sep 19, 2026

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Literature, Journalism and the Avant-Garde examines how journalism shaped the evolution of modern Arabic literary forms in Egypt, from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. The study maps the Egyptian literary scene by centering independent, dissident journals that intensified experimental writing under censorship and licensing pressures. Drawing on original Arabic sources, avant-garde theory, and Bourdieu’s field theory, it reconstructs the journal’s role as a semi-autonomous lifeblood for an entire literary sub-field, while highlighting the sixties generation and Gallery 68’s modernist impact.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages289

Reading Time7 h 25 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Literary journalism in Egypt: its emergence and development

Literary journalism in Egypt: increasing politicization

The theoretical basis of the avant-garde in 1960s Egypt

The sixties generation and its politics of literature

The sixties generation in search of a specific literary identity

The establishment of a new literary paradigm: the 1970s and beyond

Appendix A: the blossoming of literary journalism in the early twentieth century

Appendix B: Gallery 68 particulars

Appendix C: list of Egyptian journals mentioned in the text

Bibliography

Name index

Subject index

LITERATURE, JOURNALISM AND THE AVANT-GARDE Journalism played a role of unparalleled importance in the evolution of modern literary forms and techniques in Arabic literature. Literature, Journalism and the Avant-Garde explores the role of journalism in Egypt in shaping the development of modern Arabic literature from its inception in the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. This book seeks to re-map the Egyptian literary scene over recent decades by focusing on the independent, frequently dissident journals that became the real hotbed of innovative literary activity inflected by politics as censorship and licensing laws drove experimentation underground. It is in this context that the journal became, paradoxically, the ‘traditional’ forum for innovative literature. Using a broad range of original Arabic sources read against avant-garde theory and Bourdieu’s theory of fields, the author shows how the journal became the lifeblood of a whole literary sub-field able to operate (semi-) autonomously of establishment institutions. It is the vibrant dynamic powered by literary journalism and the dialectic between literary margin and mainstream that this book seeks to reconstruct. While broad in historical scope, Literature, Journalism and the Avant-Garde emphasizes the enduring influence of the ‘sixties generation’ – the subject of increasing scholarly interest – and the pivotal role of the avant-garde journal Gallery 68 in fostering a sense of literary modernism in Egyptian and, to a larger extent, Arabic fiction. Elisabeth Kendall studied and researched at Oxford and Harvard Universities. Her core research interests lie in twentieth-century Arabic and Turkish literature, especially experimental movements. She is a lecturer in Arabic and Turkish at Edinburgh University. ROUTLEDGE STUDIES IN MIDDLE EASTERN LITERATURES Editors: James E. Montgomery University of Cambridge Roger Allen University of Pennsylvania Philip F. Kennedy New York University Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Literatures is a monograph series devoted to aspects of the literatures of the Near and Middle East and North Africa both modern and pre-modern. It is hoped that the provision of such a forum will lead to a greater emphasis on the comparative study of the literatures of this area, although studies devoted to one literary or linguistic region are warmly encouraged. It is the editors’ objective to foster the comparative and multi-disciplinary investigation of the written and oral literary products of this area. 1. SHEHERAZADE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS Eva Sallis 2. THE PALESTINIAN NOVEL Ibrahim Taha 3. OF DISHES AND DISCOURSE Geert Jan van Gelder 4. MEDIEVAL ARABIC PRAISE POETRY Beatrice Gruendler 5. MAKING THE GREAT BOOK OF SONGS Hilary Kilpatrick 6. THE NOVEL AND THE RURAL IMAGINARY IN EGYPT, 1880–1985 Samah Selim 7. IBN ABI TAHIR TAYFUR AND ARABIC WRITERLY CULTURE A ninth-century bookman in Baghdad Shawkat M. Toorawa 8. RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES IN MODERN MUSLIM AND JEWISH LITERATURES Edited by Glenda Abramson and Hilary Kilpatrick 9. ARABIC POETRY Trajectories of modernity and tradition [Muhsin J. al-Musawi](Muhsin J. al-Musawi) 10. MEDIEVAL ANDALUSIAN COURTLY CULTURE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN Three ladies and a lover Cynthia Robinson 11. WRITING AND REPRESENTATION IN MEDIEVAL ISLAM Muslim horizons Julia Bray 12. NATIONALISM, ISLAM AND WORLD LITERATURE Sites of confluence in the writings of Mahmud al-Masadi Mohamed-Salah Omri 13. LITERATURE, JOURNALISM AND THE AVANT-GARDE Intersection in Egypt Elisabeth Kendall LITERATURE, JOURNALISM AND THE AVANT-GARDE Intersection in Egypt Elisabeth Kendall First published 2006 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2006 Elisabeth Kenda

FAQs

How does the book describe the relationship between journalism and modern Arabic literature in Egypt?

It argues that journalism played an unparalleled role in shaping modern literary forms and techniques, tracing this development from the mid-nineteenth century onward.

What journals does the author focus on, and why are they important?

The book centers independent, frequently dissident journals that became a hotbed for innovative literary activity shaped by political pressures such as censorship and licensing.

Which factors and generations are highlighted as especially influential?

The study emphasizes the enduring influence of the sixties generation and the pivotal role of the avant-garde journal Gallery 68 in fostering literary modernism in Egyptian and wider Arabic fiction.

Sep 19, 2026

Uploaded by Oliver