The Reader in Al-jahiz ― The Epistolary Rhetoric of an Arabic Prose Master

Explores the intricately crafted rhetorical strategies used by al-Jahiz in his letters

The 9th-century essayist, theologian and encyclopedist 'Amr b. Bahr al-Jahiz has long been acknowledged as a master of early Arabic prose writing. Many of his most engaging writings were clearly intended for a broad readership but were presented as letters to individuals. Despite the importance and quantity of these letters, surprisingly little academic notice has been paid to them.

Now, Thomas Hefter takes a new approach in interpreting some of al-Jahiz's 'epistolary monographs'. By focusing on the varying ways in which he wrote to the addressee, Hefter shows how al-Jahiz shaped his conversations on the page in order to guide (or manipulate) his actual readers and encourage them to engage with his complex materials.

Thomas Hefter is Assistant Professor of Arabic at the University of Oklahoma. He earned his PhD in Classical Arabic Literature from the University of Chicago, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. He has taught at the American University in Cairo and the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.