Fellow, institute for the humanities, university of michigan. Her publicationis include modernism and cultural transfer hebrew union coll. Anton shammas born 1950, is a palestinian writer, poet and translator biography. One memory hooks to another in an atfirst random pattern covering the 1860s to the present, and the fragmented. Apr 01, 1986 available again, arabesques is a classic, complex novel of identity, memory, and history in the middle east and points beyondincluding iowa and new york city. Arabesques was written by palestinian author anton shammas and was published during 2001. Available again, arabesques is a classic, complex novel of identity, memory, and history in the middle east and points beyondincluding iowa and new york city. The punning of arabesque fits the heterogeneous design of the book.
Uncommonly good collectible and rare books from uncommonly good booksellers. Arabesques suggests that the mobility of texts and people can unsettle the global centerperiphery and eastwest dichotomies, if only for the duration of the novel. Shammas, a palestinian with israeli citizenship, uses the iowa. This article explores how arabesques 1986 by anton. Through a network of memories, shammas tells the story of an arab christian family currently living in a galilean village. His purpose, technique, and message are intertwined with the theme of arabesques.
Anthropology and the literature of political exile. My reading of shammas s 1986 novel arabesques focuses. He is well known for the novel arabesques, written in hebrew and chronically the history of the shammas family in both palestine, israel and lebanon. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Anton shammas, palestinian literature in hebrew, creative writing programs, iowa international writing program, world literature.
Anton shammas was one of six children born to a palestinian father, hanna shammas, and a lebanese mother, helene bitar, who moved to fassuta in northern palestine in 1937 to teach at the local girls school. Anton shammas is a 38yearold israeli writer, a young writer by the standards of his culture, if not ours. Abstract this article looks at the discourses shaping the narrative structure of anton shammass arabesques, an arabic tale written in hebrew letters. Knowing the elements of arabesques 1986, authored by anton shammas, clarifies the meaning of the ancient art form as well as enlightens the reader on the significance of the novel.
Anton shammas, arabesques knowledge for its own sakethat is the last snare of morality. A palestinian master of hebrew, living at the seam between jews and arabs, between the ancient and the modern, between loyalties and appetites, shammas has written beautifully about his. This essay explores the possibility that anton shammass novel arabesques 1986 tentatively gestures towards what might be described as a onestate aesthetic for israelpalestine. Refreshing debut fiction, translated from the original hebrew, intertwining the family history of an arab christian family with regional palestinian lore. A palestinian writer and translator of arabic, hebrew and english, anton shammas has been teaching arabic and comparative literature at the university of michigan, ann arbor, since 1997. The novels respective narratives map the palestinian experience onto spaces both larger and. Arabesques, is, as its title only begins to suggest, an ornate twining and twisting. Beside the whiff of sociology, theres novelty as well. Yehoshua and shammas over the latters presumption in claiming the hebrew language as the natural provenance of israels arab. Anton shammas was one of six children born to a palestinian father and a lebanese mother, who moved to fassuta in northern palestine in 1937 to teach at the local girls school. Shammas is the first christian palestinian to write in hebrew, and his family tale mingles with the lore of his displaced group.
That the publisher lists this in the literaturemiddle eastern studies categories on the book jacket suggests that theres some extraliterary dimension to shammas s admittedly autobiographical story. Anton shammas arabesques between iowa and the galilee. Theme and coherence in arabesques by simply anton shammas. In 1962, the family moved to haifa where shammas studied in an integrated jewisharab high school. Hebrew neologisms in the writings of anton shammas adel shakour and abdallah tarabeih alqasemi academy the article examines the impact of arabic on hebrew writings of a prominent arab israeli author. Anton shammas s arabesques can be read as a protest, aimed principally at the ambiguous multiplicity that is perhaps the paramount characteristic of israeli public discourse today. During his youth, he studied at an integrated jewisharab high school while in haifa. Six miniatures on anton shammas s arabesques hannan hever. The actual elements of ornement 1986, written by anton shammas, explains the meaning from the ancient art form as well as enlightens the reader on the significance in the novel. We use cookies to offer you a better experience, personalize content, tailor advertising, provide social media features, and better understand the use of our services. A wealth of examples could be mustered to prove that israel, though behaving like a nation of rulers and conquerors, still relies heavily on the argumentation and. Theme and coherence in arabesques by anton shammas knowing the elements of arabesques 1986, authored by anton shammas, clarifies the meaning of the ancient art form as well as enlightens the reader on the significance of the novel. Anton shammas is a christian arab born in the galilee who has written his first novel in hebrew.
Smith, palestine and the arabisraeli conflict photocopies recommended readings browse and read arabesques a novel anton shammas. Anton shammas, emile habibi, and atallah mansour, she argues. She goes on to argue that writing in hebrew targets the. Anton shammas chronicles his life as an israeli christian arab, dramatizing the bitter clash of traditions in a village on the galilee just after 1948 and his search for personal identity, which leads through paris to its climax in iowa city. The israeli arab artist in anton shammas s arabesques created date. Arabesques, a novel by anton shammas 9780520228320. If the inline pdf is not rendering correctly, you can download the pdf file here. Pdf abstract this article looks at the discourses shaping the narrative structure of anton shammas s arabesques, an arabic tale written in hebrew. This novel tells a captivating story about the complex lives of palestinian christians, which is centered on shammas upbringing. His purpose, strategy, and message are connected with the theme of arabesques. In 1968, shammas moved to jerusalem and studied english and arabic literature and art history at the hebrew. Shammas s use of the novel as the platform in which his autobiography is told goes against all preconceptions of how an autobiography is normally written. Defining himself not just legally but also culturally as an israeli, he has said that the book is his real identity cardthough a careful reading of arabesques may persuade one that this identity card is not so readily decipherable. This book is a history of its authors youth, although its immediacy reaches farther back in time than the life it is rendering, and becomes the memoir of a family and a fabled region galilee.
Arabesques was chosen as one of the best books of 1988 by the editors of the new york. The israeli arab narratives, including anton shammass novel arabesques, tend to demystify the myth of the promised land by exteriorizing the hidden. Arabesques is dense with these histories, which shammas has set out to tell on behalf of the people of fassuta. Anton shammas s arabesques and the rhetoric of hebrew literature, comparative literature on deepdyve, the largest online rental service for scholarly research with thousands of academic publications available at your fingertips. A palestinian master of hebrew, living at the seam between jews and arabs, between the ancient and the modern, between loyalties and appetites, shammas has written beautifully about his search for design. Arabesques is a classic of the exploration of identity. Though written decades apart and in two different languages arabic and hebrew, emile habibys the pessoptimist, anton shammas s arabesques, and elias khourys gate of the sun are interrelated novels in a broader literary dialogue about 1948 and its aftermath for palestinians. Home about us subjects contacts about us subjects contacts. Here was shammas, an arab writer, writing in the language of israels majority.
Specifically, it studies lexical neologisms in shammas s original hebrew novel arabesques as well as in his translations of emile habibi. Anton shammas, the first arab to write a novel in hebrew, has given us a riveting look at a people we hear too little about. Arabesques, a novel by anton shammas 9780520228320 booktopia. He transforms fact into fantasy without changing a thing. The adaptation of the hebrew language to tell an arab story is a relational act that accepts the status of secondclass citizens and appeals against it, at the same time. The main characters in arabesques are anton shammas, laylah khoury, and michael abyad anton shammas is the protagonist, narrator, and author of the text. The novel created a splash when it first came out in the 80s. Theme and coherence in arabesques by anton shammas. Concert arabesques download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. The punning of arabesque meets the heterogeneous design of the book. This book is a history of its authors youth, although its immediacy. Exile has been chosen as the common, unifying condition out of which these authors texts arise because, although it is perhaps a less. Anton shammas, the first arab to write a novel in hebrew, has given us a riveting look at.
This essay explores the possibility that anton shammas s novel arabesques 1986 tentatively gestures towards what might be described as a onestate aesthetic for israelpalestine. The israeli arab artist in anton shammass arabesques jstor. Anton shammas, the first arab to write a novel in hebrew, has given us a riveting look at a people we. Khourys gate of the sun are interrelated novels in a broader. This article explores how arabesques 1986 by anton shammas, a palestinian with israeli citizenship, uses the iowa international writing program to interrogate and relocate the consecration of world literature. A n nton shammass hebrew novel arabesques r\nv\m 1986 is, in part, the saga of his arab christian family, which emigrated in the early nineteenth. Besides offering a particularly astute reading of anton shammas widelytranslated and acclaimed novel, arabesques 1989, hochberg argues that the subsequent controversial cultural debate between a. Not all the stories are sad, but they tend to focus around three periods which were and are unmistakably bitter for the village.
Emile habibys the pessoptimist, anton shammass arabesques, and elias. Discussion of themes and motifs in anton shammas arabesques. Arabesques, however, the first novel of anton shammas, a christian arab reared in israelioccupied palestine, goes against the grain, for it is clearly a fictiona patchwork quilt of legend. Though written decades apart and in two different languages arabic and hebrew, emile habibys the pessoptimist, anton shammass arabesques, and elias khourys gate of the sun are interrelated novels in a broader literary dialogue about 1948 and its aftermath for palestinians. Feldman, associate editor of prooftexts and founder of the mla discussioni group on hebrew literature, teaches hebrew and comparative literature at new york university. How can an israeli arab writer participate in a jewish literary tradition that perceives the writer as a biblical prophet, a watchman unto the house of israel. The story, which is largely autobiographical, weaves backwards and forwards through time but returns always to the tiny north galilean village of fasuta, hard by the lebanese. The publication of anton shammas novel arabesques in israel in 1986 made a stir whose ripples reached far beyond literary circles and concerns. Anton shammas s arabesques and the rhetoric of hebrew literature. Anton shammas born 1950, is a palestinian writer, poet and translator. Click download or read online button to get concert arabesques book now. During his youth, he studied at an integrated jewisharab. Comparative literature and culture issn 14814374 purdue university press purdue university volume 22 2020 issue 1 article 10 the hope of salman masalha.
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