The fantastic in literature is not a modern European invention; it is present in Arabic narrative dating from the ninth century.
The Imagination Unbound
contains an Arabic and English study of
al-Adab al-‘Aja‘ibi
, with the original Arabic text of
Kitab al-Azama
(The Book of Greatness) and commentary by the author.
Kamel Abu-Deeb
holds the chair in Arabic at the University of London. A poet and essayist, he has published many books and papers in both Arabic and English and has been co-editor of the avant-garde journal
Mawaqif
.