The Journal of the 1001 Nights

Conference: The Syrian-French Connection: Antoine Galland’s and Hanna Diyab’s Arabian Nights Sources

2012-01-31T08:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a call for papers for this upcoming conference in Copenhagen, if you are interested in attending contact the organizers below, I'm sure they will try and fit you in even though the deadline has passed. Unfortunately my funds as a grad student are limited otherwise I'd be very excited to try to present something.

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Call for Papers / Appel à communication

Copenhagen 2012: May 31 – June 2

International Conference
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Organization : University of Copenhagen, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies
Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA, Paris)
Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO, Paris)
Agence Nationale de la Recherche, MSFIMA project
Centre de Recherche Moyen-Orient et Méditerranée (CERMOM, EA 4091– INALCO)
with the support of The Danish Research Council for the Humanities (FKK)

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The Syrian-French Connection: Antoine Galland’s and Hanna Diyab’s Arabian Nights
Sources, Transmissions and Influences of the First Occidental Corpus of the
Nights

What are the Arabian Nights today? There are several possible answers to this
question. There is no doubt that this piece of literature is the outcome of
medieval Islamic civilization, the richest and most influential in the literary
sphere, in cinema and the arts. It is also in the field of the imaginary a
symbol at an international level. It is perhaps first of all a fruitful
cooperation between several languages, several cultures and several geographic
areas encompassing the Occident as well as the Orient…
The idea of this colloquium is to take as a point of departure the creation that
involved several cultures and to follow how the result was transformed and in
various ways had its impact in several fields of the arts. In the 8th century,
when the book was adapted from middle Persian into Arabic, the result was a new
work that involved both cultures, Persian and Arabic. The focus of the
colloquium is another transformation, when, many centuries later, Arabic and
European cultures interacted in a highly significant manner, i.e. at the
beginning of the 18th century, when a manuscript of the Arabian Nights was
brought from Aleppo to Paris, and a dozen new tales were told by a learned
Syrian, Hanna Diyab, to a French oriental scholar, Antoine Galland, who chose
eight of them and added them to his translation of the Nights. The manuscript
from Aleppo is one of the oldest and most important of the Nights. It was edited
in 1984 (Mahdi, Leiden). The eight new tales have been called the ‘orphan tales’
(Gerhardt, 1963), since they were not included in any of the manuscript versions
of the Nights - a somewhat curious denomination, since there were actually two
fathers, Hanna Diyab, who knew the stories by heart and in his own manner told
them to Galland, who then created his own French adaptations. The volumes
published by Galland thus include tales from the Nights as well as new tales.
These volumes turned out to be a major cultural and literary event that would
have a profound impact on European literature at the time and lasting effects
all the way into contemporary culture. Some of the eight new tales have had a
particularly remarkable fate, Ali Baba has, e.g., after several dozens of
cinematic adaptations (25 versions in Urdu between 1930 and 1980, just to quote
one example), also recently been turned into a movie (Pierre Aknine, 2007). A
similar success does obviously raise a number of questions. Yet Ali Baba is not
the only French-Syrian tale that has been remarkably successful. Aladdin has
similarly sparked a number of adaptations, of particular importance is the
Danish case, where Oehlenschlaeger’s drama-version, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
(1805), not only is a major classic, the Aladdin-character has moreover been a
point of reference all the way through the 19th century for numerous literary
texts as well as important cultural controversies. Another example: one of the
outstanding works of silent cinema, The Thief of Bagdad (1926), is also based on
one of the Diyab-Galland-tales, i.e. Prince Ahmed, but also on the story about
Aladdin. All of this invites us to ask two essential questions:
1) What was the role of the Syrian community in Paris at the beginning of the
18th century in the transfer of culture from the Orient to the Occident? What
did the orally transferred tales and the manuscripts of the Nights that were
brought from Aleppo to Paris (in particular the so called Galland-manuscript -
number 3609-3611 at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France) represent?
2) What are the characteristic features of the new tales that were brought to
Antoine Galland by Hanna Diyab? What is their ‘history’, their narrative
organization, their function? What was the cultural influence of the ‘mixed’ or
’hybrid’ tales, like Aladdin or Ali Baba? What is in general the afterlife of
this new material in literature, cinema, and the arts? How can we grasp the
reasons for the immense success of these tales?

This colloquium will also contribute to the preparation of the exhibition on the
Arabian Nights that will take place at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris in
November 2012, some of the contributions will be published in the exhibition
catalogue.

* *
*

Participation : Those who wish to participate are kindly requested to send an
abstract of no more than 500 words or one A4 page (double-spaced) to Peter
Madsen (pmadsen@hum.ku.dk ) and Aboubakr Chraïbi (aboubakr.chraibi@inalco.fr )
before 2011 December 15.

* *
*

Appel à communication

Copenhague 31 mai – 2 juin 2012

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Organisation : University of Copenhagen, Department of Arts and Cultural Studies
Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA, Paris)
Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO, Paris)
Agence Nationale de la Recherche, projet MSFIMA
Centre de Recherche Moyen-Orient et Méditerranée (CERMOM, EA 4091– INALCO)
avec le soutien du Danish Research Council for the Humanities (FKK)

Colloque international

La composante franco-syrienne : Les Mille et une nuits d’Antoine Galland et de
Hanna Diyab.
Sources, transmissions et influences du premier corpus occidental des Nuits

Qu’est-ce que les Mille et une nuits aujourd’hui ? Plusieurs réponses sont
possibles. C’est sans doute l’ouvrage de l’islam médiéval, comme civilisation,
le plus riche et le plus influent sur la littérature, le cinéma et les arts.
C’est aussi un symbole, dans l’imaginaire, à l’échelle internationale. C’est
peut-être surtout l’histoire d’une coopération réussie entre plusieurs langues,
plusieurs cultures et plusieurs espaces géographiques, qui englobent Orient et
Occident …

L’objectif de ce colloque est précisément de prendre comme point de départ la
perspective d’une création commune, et de continuer ensuite vers les
transformations successives de l’ouvrage, jusqu’aux modalités de sa diffusion et
de son influence sur les différents arts. Au VIIIe siècle, lorsque le livre a
été adapté du moyen persan en arabe, il en a résulté une création nouvelle,
partagée par les deux cultures, arabe et persane. Pour nous, il s’agit de nous
situer au moment d’un autre passage, lorsque, bien plus tard, les cultures arabe
et européenne vont jouer ensemble un rôle significatif, c’est-à-dire au début du
XVIIIe siècle, avec le transfert d’un manuscrit des Mille et une nuits d’Alep à
Paris, et la transmission d’une douzaine de contes nouveaux par un lettré
syrien, Hanna Diyab, à un orientaliste français, Antoine Galland, qui en
choisira huit et les ajoutera à sa traduction des Mille et une nuits. Le
manuscrit importé d’Alep est l’un des plus anciens et des plus importants des
Nuits. Il a été édité en 1984 (Mahdi, Leyde). Et ces huit contes nouveaux ont
souvent été appelés orphan stories (Gerhardt, 1963), car ils ne se trouvaient
naturellement dans aucune version manuscrite des Nuits, ce qui est en soi assez
plaisant, lorsqu’on sait qu’ils avaient en réalité non pas un mais deux pères :
Hanna Diyab qui les connaissait par cœur et les a racontés à sa manière à
Galland, et celui-ci qui les a adaptés en français. Au total, la traduction de
Galland, qui mêle donc contes des Nuits et contes nouveaux, représente un
événement majeur qui va affecter profondément la littérature européenne de
l’époque et dont les effets se poursuivront jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Parmi les huit
contes ajoutés, certains ont eu en effet un destin particulièrement remarquable.
Par exemple, Ali Baba, après avoir été adapté au cinéma des dizaines de fois (25
versions différentes tournées par exemple en ourdou entre 1930 et 1980), a
encore fait l’objet récemment d’un nouveau film (Pierre Aknine, 2007). Un tel
succès suscite bien entendu de nombreuses questions. Mais Ali Baba n’est pas le
seul conte franco-syrien à être devenu aussi célèbre, Aladdin est une création
du même genre, en particulier au Danemark où la pièce d’Oehlenschlaeger Aladdin
ou la lampe merveilleuse (1805) est un grand classique et où ce personnage a été
tout au long du 19e s. une référence récurrente dans de nombreux textes
littéraires et de nombreux débats savants. L'une des œuvres majeures du cinéma
muet, Le voleur de Bagdad (1926), est basée sur Le prince Ahmed et la Fée Péri
Banou (autre conte de Galland-Diyab), mais aussi sur Aladdin. En somme, ces
observations induisent deux questions essentielles :

1 – Quel était le rôle de la communauté syrienne présente à Paris au début du
XVIIIe siècle dans le passage du savoir d’Orient en Occident ? Que
représentaient alors les contes oraux et les manuscrits des Mille et une nuits
transférés d’Alep à Paris (en particulier le manuscrit de la BnF n° 3609-3611
dit de Galland) ?
2 – Comment peut-on identifier ces contes nouveaux rapportés par Hanna Diyab à
Antoine Galland ? Quelle est leur « histoire », leur composition, leur
fonction ? Comment ces contes « mixtes » ou « hybrides », comme Aladdin et Ali
Baba, ont-ils influencé d’autres ouvrages ? Qu’elle est plus généralement la
postérité dans la littérature, le cinéma et les arts de cette matière nouvelle ?
Comment doit-on comprendre son immense succès ?

Ce colloque servira notamment à préparer l'exposition Mille et une nuits qui
aura lieu à l'Institut du Monde Arabe en novembre 2012 à Paris et certaines
communications seront intégrées au catalogue de l'exposition.

* *
*

Participation : Les personnes désireuses de participer sont priées d'envoyer le
titre de leur communication, accompagné d'un abstract (maximum 500 mots ou une
feuille A 4, interligne double), à Aboubakr Chraïbi (aboubakr.chraibi@inalco.fr
) et à Peter Madsen (pmadsen@hum.ku.dk ) avant le 15 décembre 2011.

Pinball Arcade - Tales of the Arabian Nights on Ipad 2

2012-01-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

According to toucharcade.com (http://toucharcade.com/2012/01/12/video-of-upcoming-pinball-arcade-running-on-ipad-2/) the first pinball game to be released on Pinball Arcade, a set of pinball games for the Ipad 2, will be Williams' Tales of the Arabian Nights, their longtime Nights-themed pinball machine that Robert Irwin mentions often in his writing.

Here is a video of the game, it is rumored to be out soon, this month, and cost only 99 cents US via Itunes.

William Holman Hunt - The Golden Prime of Haroun Alraschid (1866)

2012-01-09T14:25:00.000-08:00

William Holman Hunt - The Golden Prime of Haroun Alraschid (1866) is a painting made as an accompanying visual piece to the poem "Recollections of the Arabian Nights" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Read more about Hunt on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Holman_Hunt

1001 Nights Shoe Line

2012-01-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

Jordanian shoemaker aennis eunis has unveiled their latest collection called 1001 Nights, at Bloomingdale's Dubai.

The limited edition collection is available only for another few days and consists of designs by Anas Shanaah. There are seven shoes named Shahrazade, Parizade, Badeia Al Jamal, Shams Al Nahar, Al Ward Fi Al Akmam, Jawharah Al Bihar and Zain II Mawasef.

Here is a picture of Al Ward Fi Al Akman, you can learn more about the collection on La Moda Dubai's website: http://www.lamodadubai.com/2011/12/aennis-eunis-unveils-1001-nights-collection-at-bloomingdales-dubai/

Panda Bear - Scheherazade (2011)

2011-12-12T08:27:00.000-08:00

Here is a song by Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panda_Bear_%28musician%29) called "Scheherazade." Good stuff from an artist who is well known in his circles and set to break out any moment. The song is from his 2011 album Tomboy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomboy_%28album%29.

Lyrics are pasted after the youtube link.

"I see it up ahead
I've seen it all behind
I see it at the sides
Though I've no point to try

But if I could do
Then what I would do to you

I see it in the day
I see it in the night
I see it all the time
Though I might not desire

But if I could do
Then what I would do to you"

James Joyce's copy of Burton's Nights

2011-11-23T15:44:00.000-08:00

Here's something you don't see everyday, and something I was particularly excited to get to look at, the volumes of Richard F. Burton's Nights that were a part of the library of James Joyce. I don't know much about the particularities of the volumes, where Joyce bought them, etc., but do know he got them and read them (via a couple of articles by Aida Yared) after writing, or shortly before finishing, Ulysses.

They are housed as a part of the Poetry Collection of the University of Buffalo (NY) Libraries, along with a ton of Joyce related writings and other incredible things, like the original of Yeats' order form for Ulysses, and etc. etc.

Many thanks to the staff at the Library, very cool people, always be nice to your librarians, they run the world.

I took these pictures, but they are owned by The Poetry Collection of the University Libraries, University at Buffalo, so don't use them elsewhere! Thank you!

As an aside, it is known that there are no markings in the books, and that most of the pages are cut (they used to have every page sealed, and you had to cut them to read them), but what has never (as far as I've read) been remarked on is that Volume 10 ("Terminal Essay," etc.) has a particularly well creased spine, the pages laid flat, unlike all of the other volumes (yes, I asked to look through all of them...), and, most interestingly, the pages of Volume 10 smelled of smoke, other volumes didn't. Immortality indeed. Yes.

From JJ Nights

The Secrets of The Arcadian Library

2011-11-08T13:15:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to Paul for passing along this, a great TLS book review, by Marina Warner, of the book The Arcadian Library: Western appreciation of Arab and Islamic civilization by Alastair Hamilton.

The library is a top secret, entrance-by-invitation-only, private library containing, it seems, a treasure trove of books relating to West/Middle East relations, including many rare copies of the Nights.

As an aside, Marina Warner also has a Nights-related book out this month, another new translation called Stranger Magic: Charmed states and the Arabian Nights.

I've pasted an excerpt from the review below, but you can read it in its entirety here: http://www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/public/article812318.ece

"The Arcadian collection of editions of the Arabian Nights is one of the most multitudinous in the world, in keeping with the tales themselves. They were the reason for my visiting the Library in the first place, and the sight of the towering bookcase, dedicated to this accumulation of volumes from the first translation (l704–21) by Antoine Galland onwards, in differently coloured fine bindings, made me gasp like a seeker in one of the stories discovering the egg of the giant roc in its nest.

The Arcadian Library does not need to expand on these holdings; it does, however, reproduce some of the illustrations on another glorious gatefold, and it pictures a scattering of pages from a bundle of seventeenth-century manuscript notebooks in which stories of the Nights are told.

These have been annotated with exclamations and invocations of the owner, and survive between battered boards, the pages’ edges carefully patched here and there to preserve them. Perhaps they belonged to an itinerant storyteller, a hakawati, as Nacer Khemir calls himself; they have been lovingly read to bits.

With this lavish study of the Arcadian Library, it is to be hoped that a similar process has begun. As readers discover the knowledge assembled in the collection, it can start to flow and spread through our consciousness, altering many received ideas about the relations between East and West."

Scheherazade the Ballet - Ireland

2011-11-01T22:50:00.000-07:00

Posting's been a bit light during job application season, my apologies, but the Nights rolls on, and will do so, regardless... here's news on Scheherazade, a ballet currently touring in Ireland, from the Irish Times:

Link: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2011/1028/1224306620296.html

"Choreographer Morgann Runacre-Temple bravely created a full-length Scheherazade for Ballet Ireland, now the National Ballet of Ireland, tackling the tale of an Arabian king who beheads a slew of virgin wives. Not your typical ballet narrative, Scheherazade begs for big, sultry movements to match Rimsky-Korsakov’s grandiose score, but the best part of this production was the behind-the-scenes artistic team, not what we actually saw on stage.

Designer Lorna Ritchie’s parachute-sized swathe of white silk served as the main set piece augmented by Paul Keogan’s lighting, and the silk took on a life of its own, sometimes meriting more attention than the dancers. It morphed from bedroom decor to window dressing to a ship’s mast, loosely carrying the ballet forward as a backdrop for Scheherazade’s stories.

Katherine Kingston and David Horn offered dependable characterisations of King Shahryar and Scheherazade, but their roles lacked dynamism. While Runacre-Temple adroitly handled the king knocking off his other wives in what could have been the most off-putting part of the story – little gems like this were nearly lost with everything else going on.

The dancing almost crescendoed when eight men presented a potentially powerful nautical number, but instead of testosterone-fuelled movement, the steps remained even-keeled. Throughout the ballet, Kieran Stoneley proved the most interesting dancer to watch.

Stoneley first appeared as a magician, beguiling us with his wonderfully sinister demeanour – a seductive character in a melee of princesses, sultans and magic lamps. As a member of the corps, he burst beyond the ordinary steps with his compelling presence, exactly the calibre of artist the company should be trying to attract.

The iconic American choreographer, Mark Morris, once said his best advice to young choreographers is “not to put everything you know into one ballet”, and rather than creating such busy scenes, Runacre-Temple would do well to allow personalities like Stoneley to dazzle on their own.
Runs until Saturday, then on national tour until December 18"

Tomb Raider - Arabian Nights

2011-10-20T23:24:00.000-07:00

From 1001 Nights

The cover of the comic Tomb Raider: Arabian Nights (2004)

Habibi by Craig Thompson

2011-10-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Irfan for passing along this news item about the graphic novel Habibi, a 750+ page book with a Nights-esque relationship.

Here is the book's website: http://www.habibibook.com/

This website is from Minnesota Public Radio and features an interview with the author: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/state-of-the-arts/archive/2011/09/graphic-novel-habibi-intertwines-holy-books-with-comic-books.shtml

"Thompson spent seven years researching, writing and drawing his latest book "Habibi," a love story that takes place in a Middle Eastern desert. MPR's Euan Kerr met up with Thompson recently, who explained that his childhood in a strictly religious family in Wisconsin has had a lasting influence on his work.

"The book is like a mash-up of the sacred medium of the holy books, like the Koran and the Bible, mixed up with the vulgar story of pulp medium of comic books, which would have been my two biggest influences growing up, the Bible and comic-books," Thompson said.

"And then there is a nod to "1,001 Nights" and this sort of theme of Sheherezade telling stories for survival, and one story folding in on an other, so that you lose track of where you began."

Thompson also makes use of the magic squares designed by Arab mystics, who found meaning in the shapes, designs and even narratives in numeric patterns.

"It's basically mystical sudoku," he says. "Sudoku has its own narrative, it's a mathematical narrative, and I exploited that for the sake of the book."

Habibi is a complex interweaving of the sacred and the profane, touching on themes of power and politics, human trafficking, environmental exploitation and the joys and sadnesses of love. Critics have raved about its beauty."

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Here is a critique of Habibi in the post "Can the Subaltern Draw?" - on this blog: http://hoodedutilitarian.com/2011/10/can-the-subaltern-draw-the-spectre-of-orientalism-in-craig-thompsons-habibi/

"I find that Habibi is a tragically familiar Orientalist tale that a reader can find in books by Kipling or many a French painter."

The Flying Carpet is Now Real

2011-10-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

A student at Princeton just made a real Flying Carpet, sort of. Are magic lamps next?

From: International Business Times: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/223144/20111001/arabian-nights-flying-carpet-comes-to-reality-video.htm

"Forget The Arabian Nights: This ‘Flying Carpet’ is Real"

By IBTimes Staff Reporter | October 1, 2011 7:33 AM EDT

As soon as you hear the phrase "flying carpet," your brain, in a fraction of second, draws a picture of characters out of The Arabian Nights sitting on it. However, the time of The Arabian Nights is over, and a flying carpet has landed in the real world.

A Princeton University graduate student with origins in India has designed a miniature magic carpet made of plastic, which took flight in a laboratory there.

According to a BBC report, the 4-inch (10-centimeter) sheet of smart transparency is driven by ripple power, waves of electrical current driving thin pockets of air from front to back underneath it.

The prototype, described in Applied Physics Letters, moves at speeds of about a centimeter per second. Improvements to the design could raise that to as much as a meter per second.

Talking about his creation, Joah Jafferis said: "It has to keep close to the ground because the air is then trapped between the sheet and the ground. As the waves move along the sheet, it basically pumps the air out the back." "

1001 Nights in Granada

2011-09-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

I posted awhile back about the Nights conference that was (then) going to be held in Granada Spain. I hear it was a great success. Many thanks to Nathalie for passing along this video picture montage with some great music:

Congreso de Bagdad a Granada by 3alyiah

You can also see it at her blog: http://deunaorillaaotra.blogspot.com/

Whitewashing Tales from The Arabian Nights: WPR Interview

2011-09-27T22:46:00.000-07:00

Here is an interview from Wisconsin Public Radio on the Nights featuring a conversation between Andrei Codrescu and Reza Aslan on the story collection.

Here's the link, you can download the program:

http://www.wpr.org/hereonearth/archive_110614k.cfm

From the site:

"In the original telling, Scheherazade’s story was wild and wicked enough to keep the Sultan awake for a 1001 nights. Reza Aslan and Andrei Codrescu uncover the libidinous side of the Arabian Nights as we talk about the seductive power of storytelling.

Guest

Andrei Codrescu, author of Whatever Gets You through the Night: A Story of Sheherezade and the Arabian Entertainments
Reza Aslan, founder of AslanMedia.com, Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside"

The Thief of Bagdad (1940) Pictures

2011-09-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

Here is an incredibly cool website featuring a great collection of pictures related to the 1940 Nights-film The Thief of Bagdad.

http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Images/40_ToB/index.html

Amado Carrillo Fuentes & Palacio de Mil y Una Noches

2011-09-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

Notorious, and long gone, Mexican drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amado_Carrillo_Fuentes), who died after undergoing a botched facial plastic surgery to change the way he looked, had a mansion in Mexico that everyone called Palacio de Mil y Una Noches (The Palace of the 1001 Nights). You can see from this picture, from the article on Border Reporter, its Orientalistic architecture.

I don't have time to look into this any more than this at the moment, but it's a fascinating story, I've excerpted the article below, and I wonder if the place had ever been torn down? The article is from 2006. Feel free to add more links/info in the comments section (I'd be interested in learning more about this house).

From 1001 Nights

"Apr 4th, 2006 | By Michel Marizco | Category: General News, Organized Crime, Politics

HERMOSILLO, SONORA – Gov. Eduardo Bours Castelo wants to tear down one of the last vestiges of the most powerful drug lords Mexico ever knew.

Topped with Russian cupolas and covered in graffiti, the narco-castillo of Amado Carrillo Fuentes stands three stories in the air, looming over the swank homes in Hermosillo’s Colonia Pitic neighborhood.

Amado, the Lord of the Skies, dominated the cocaine trade between Colombia and the United States, buying 747 jets in the U.S. and ferrying tons of cocaine up to the border at Ciudad Juarez and El Paso.

In the 1990s, he purchased the unfinished castle from the proprietors who were left holding it when Tucson’s own drug lord was arrested in 1988. Jaime Figueroa Soto, the biggest drug lord ever arrested in Arizona, went down hiding in a closet in his million-dollar home in Scottsdale.

Narco-castillos dot the desert of northern Mexico. This one, dubbed the Palacio de Mil y Una Noches, is estimated to cost upwards of $5 million, sitting less than a quarter-mile from the governor’s mansion in this provincial Mexican capital.

In a frank discussion with reporters Monday, Gov. Bours said he’s asked the Mexican Federal Attorney General’s office to turn the seized property over to the state so it could be torn down and the property turned into a park.

Describing it as a haunted house in El Imparcial newspaper, Bours said he’s asked the feds to knock it down but that they say they can’t because the case is still in federal court. The feds seized the house in 1993.

History has a strange way of repeating itself and familiar names keep coming up in the narco-world.

Jaime, now 57, was released from a U.S. prison in Florence, Colo., March 20, 2006.

Amado Carrillo Fuentes died July 4, 1997 after a bad reaction to a plastic surgery operation. His death certificate listed him as a ganadero, a cattle rancher."

Samia Gamal

2011-09-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

The legendary Samia Gamal was an actress and dancer from Egypt who also made it big in foreign films, including France's Ali Baba with French comedian Fernandel.

Here she is dancing in Ali Baba, aka Ali Baba et les quarante voleurs (1954).

She also stars in the 1949 Nights-related film Afrita hanem, (And I just wrote its English wikipedia page, feel free to add to it - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrita_hanem), where she plays a dancer/genie.

More on Samia Gamal - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samia_Gamal

"The French Translations of The Thousand and One Nights"

2011-09-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

I'm excited by current trends in Nights scholarship that are focusing on specific versions, because there is several lifetimes of things to look into on the Nights, particularly by focusing on only one of its versions.

This speech below is from a Princeton website from 2003. Professor David Wrisly of the American University in Beirut is studying the particulars surrounding the 1806 French version of Jean-Jacques Antoine Caussin de Perceval (1759-1835).

The following is from the website http://www.princeton.edu/rbsc/fellowships/2002-03/wrisley.html.

"David Wrisley
American University of Beruit

"The French Translations of The Thousand and One Nights"

The English-speaking world knows the Arabian Nights by the famous translations of Burton and Lane. The first European translation of those medieval Arabic of stories entitled "Alf Leila wa Leila" was made, however, by the orientalist Antoine Galland. He published this work in French in twelve volumes between 1706 and 1720. Between that early eighteenth-century translation and the second major translation in French made by Joseph Mardrus a century later (1808-12), a flurry of other editions and reprints (some 75 according to Chauvin's Bibliographie des ouvrages arabes) of the Galland text appeared first in French and then in the other major languages across Europe.

J.H. Hanford's article for the Princeton Library Chronicle (XXVI, 1964-65) on the diverse collection of the Arabian Nights in English held at the Princeton University Library along with my scholarly interests in the practice of orientalist scholarship and the history of translation inspired me to take a look at the variety of French translations. Thanks to a Friends of the Princeton University Library short-term visiting fellowship, I was able to study in detail a number of these eighteenth-century French editions of the Galland translation in the summer of 2002.

In my research I noted not only on the textual modifications from edition to edition, but also investigated the French orientalists responsible for those editions. After examining the Galland edition ([Ex] 2263.2706.2), its form and its content, I chose to study the subsequent "reprints" of that base translation, in particular a fascinating one composed in nine volumes by Caussin de Perceval printed in 1806 ([Ex] 3229.616.123). From my research I intend to draft an article based on the latter, situating it in the context of French literary history of the period. I intend to focus on the plethora of paratextual material included in the eighteenth-century editions (notes, prefaces, commentaries) that give us an idea of the cultural meaning and worth of this translation to Europe. Linguistic features of the various translations from Arabic are complex and are detailed in the introduction to the now standard edition by Hussain Haddawy (1990-95).

Jean-Jacques Antoine Caussin de Perceval (1759-1835) was one of the well-placed orientalists in France in the generations following Antoine Galland's death in 1715. As a young man he was curator of the king's Oriental manuscripts. Later in life, he was appointed professor at the Collège de France. He made translations into French, in 1796 Apollonius of Rhodes' Expedition of the Argonauts from Greek, and in 1802 Howain's History of Sicily. In that same year, he published a two-volume Suite des mille et une nuits. Caussin was not alone in wanting to expand the original edition of Galland. Others such as Jacques Cazotte, a Frenchman who lived in Martinique, solicited the help of a Levantine (i.e. Arabic-speaking) monk to "translate" other tales not included in the manuscript held by Galland. No medieval edition of the text actually contained 1001 stories, but the popularity of the translations in Europe created a "demand for a complete edition" (Beaumont). Indeed, a textual history of the tradition of the 1001 Nights (to this day incomplete) would have to take into account numerous forgeries, inventions and varied sources from the Orient. It has been argued that the European expanded versions of the 1001 Nights even shaped, as if in a game of mirrors, the content of modern Arabic editions in India and Egypt by exporting new "authentic" texts.

The Princeton University Library's beautifully preserved 1806 edition in nine volumes of Caussin de Perceval gives one such example of a complex evolving textual history. Seven of the nine volumes contain a newly edited (and importantly, newly annotated) version of Galland's Mille et une nuits. The last two volumes complete the work, not only expanding the number of stories, but changing its overall scope and tone. It is to this composite work that I would like to turn.

Galland added footnotes occasionally to his tales of the Arabian Nights, thereby explaining some of the exoticism in his text. When Caussin de Perceval reprints Galland's text though, he takes this process of annotation to an entirely new level. At the beginning of the first volume, Caussin excerpts a portion of La Harpe's Lycée, the mammoth text of eighteenth-century literary historical scholarship. The passage chosen contains La Harpe's canonization and appropriation of the 1001 Nights as a great monument of "our literature." Caussin's editorial style continues in that spirit opening the medieval Arabic tales for the enjoyment and the edification of all readers and especially gens de lettres. In fact, this edition illustrates very well the professionalization of the Orientalist and the presentation of his erudition for public consumption.

At every turn, we are reminded by Caussin of the interest of such a text to the general reader, but unlike Galland's minimal annotation which seemed to privilege the literary integrity of the tales, Caussin's frequent interventions frame the 1001 Nights as a document of endless anthropological and historical interest. In the initial seven volumes (corresponding to Galland's original text) we read numerous footnotes commenting on questions of religious custom and the history of Islam, numismatics, Semitic etymologies, botanical and zoological facts, with even occasional comparisons to European cultural heritage. The last two volumes (8 and 9) illustrate most directly the spirit of Caussin's compilation. The stories themselves are taken from the same kind of "native informants" as those published by Cazotte and Chavis, yet Caussin is quick to distance himself from what he calls their "classicizing effect". He claims to translate the Arabic text more faithfully.

Caussin, it can be easily shown, also distances himself from Galland's style of translation where the clarity of the French-language text and its masterful composition can in and of itself please an audience. Caussin's 1806 text does not reflect the notion of language of a Boileau or a Racine, but suggests the something indeed has been lost in the translation. Annotation is essential. The philological commentary in volumes 8 and 9 is much more elaborate and Caussin even inserts back into the text transliterated Arabic and Persian fragments in italics which would seem designed to give back some the translation's lost authenticity. This re-orientalizing process goes along with a proliferation of commentary comparing the Arabic tales to great works in the Western tradition, Greco-Roman literature, medieval French and Italian stories and even the Song of Songs.

A further analysis of Caussin's edition will need to put these competing tendencies in his editorial practice into a larger context. His edition is after all both a testimony to his great predecessor Galland, and a renewal of the text, enriched by a (then) highly developed field of Oriental studies, created for a different audience with new expectations of Oriental literature and of the reading of foreign literature itself."

The Thousand and One Nights - Hanan Al Shaykh & Tim Supple

2011-09-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. Another version of the Nights joins us this year. This one was recently published in the UK and written by Hanan Al Shaykh, and a play version is available in the US by both Al Shaykh and Tim Supple. I'm sure you can get the UK version somehow in the US as well though.

Many thanks to Irfan and JC for passing this info along.

From 1001 Nights

Hanan Al Shaykh is the author of the version of the Nights that Luminato was based on, Tim Supple directed the play. I believe it is now touring, but I'm not exactly sure.

From what I've read Al Shaykh's version is quite risque, giving voice to what was a vital part of the original manuscript, and was well received.

I'll post some reviews as I collect them. It will be interesting to see her version, I've read a couple of her books and they are recommended if you are interested in feminism, the Middle East, and contemporary viewpoints from that region via Al Shaykh's particular vision, not to mention being good reads that stand on their own and will draw you in you regardless of your own interests. Here's her wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanan_al-Shaykh

You can read the beginning of the frame story at the publisher's website here: http://www.bloomsbury.com/One-Thousand-and-One-Nights/Hanan-Al-Shaykh/books/details/9781408826041

I think it's a really well done version from the excerpt, very funny, I'm looking forward to getting a copy.

Here's a video of author Tahmina Anam (thanks Irfan!) talking about the Nights and Al Shaykh's version, among other things:

Haroun Rachid, Nights of Algeria

2011-08-31T19:16:00.000-07:00

From 1001 Nights

This is an album cover by Haroun Rachid, Nights of Algeria, late 90s early 00s.

Stories of 1001 Nights

2011-08-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

This is a Dutch book I saw recently on ebay Australia. Looks like a great looking cover. From the description of the sale it was listed as a larger size book, published in Amsterdam by Mulder and Zoon, the seller said there was no date but he thinks it was from the 1930s (why, I'm not sure), he says there are illustrations inside and eight stories.

From 1001 Nights

A Thousand and One Erotic Nights (1982)

2011-08-23T00:44:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of a poster for sale on ebay, a Yugoslavian poster of the film A Thousand and One Erotic Nights (1982)....

From 1001 Nights

Arabian Nights Plot to Kill Stalin

2011-08-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

I need to stay away from this because it's pretty interesting and deserves much more research. I know if I start, I'll get lost, and never finish my dissertation! Maybe you can fill in the blanks? But, the men who were allegedly plotting to kill Stalin, apparently used the Nights as a code book to outline their plans.

This is from the NYT/IHT, news from 1936? 75 years ago today kind of thing:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/opinion/22iht-oldaug22.html

From the International Herald Tribune
100, 75, 50 Years Ago
Published: August 21, 2011

"1936 Code in Stalin Plot Revealed

How “The Arabian Nights” served as a secret code for the Russian terrorists who were to slay Josef Stalin and other Soviet chiefs was told by Ivan Holtzmann, one of the 16 accused in the Moscow treason trial, before a sweltering courtroom today [Aug. 21], as the prisoners continued to recite their murderous intentions. Among those who are being tried are Gregory Zinoviev, former secretary of the Third International, and Leo Kamenev, former Ambassador to Italy and Trotsky’s brother-in-law. They are accused of plotting with Trotsky, in exile in Norway, to assassinate the present Soviet government leaders and to seize power. Holtzmann said he was ordered to hand over a report on the Stalin regime to Sedov Trotsky, son of the exiled revolutionary, together with a marked copy of “The Arabian Nights,” which was used as a code by the terrorists. Pressed to say how this code worked, Holtzmann said that he could not remember, except that the characters in the stories represented the various Soviet leaders. Like most of his fellow prisoners, Holtzmann today retracted his previous statement that he had no participation in the plot to kill Stalin. “I was not only morally, but actually responsible,” he said. "

new review of Paul Nurse's Eastern Dreams

2011-08-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

Here is an excerpt of a new review of Paul McMichael Nurse's Nights book Eastern Dreams: How the Arabian Nights Came to the World (2010).

The review is by Maria Tatar of Harvard. She writes a lot about the history of the Nights as well as mentioning the book.

Here is the link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/eastern-dreams-by-paul-mcmichael-nurse/article2123216/

Excerpt:

"The daily review, Tues., Aug. 9

A cross-cultural classic by committee

Maria Tatar

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

Published Tuesday, Aug. 09, 2011 12:01AM EDT

"Voltaire dismissed the Arabian Nights as “senseless stories that mean nothing,” but many other writers have found in the collection a golden well of inspiration.

Charles Dickens and William Wordsworth read the tales when they were young and treasured them into adulthood. Edgar Allan Poe was so intoxicated by their sorcery that he wrote The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade. O. Henry alluded to them repeatedly in such tales as A Night in New Arabia and A Bird of Bagdad. And Stephen King created in his novel Misery a latter-day Scheherazade in the person of Paul Sheldon, who (re)writes a story to save his life.

In the words of Jorge Luis Borges, the Arabian Nights has become a work so vast that “it is not necessary to have read it.”"

-----------------------------------

"Eastern Dreams brilliantly maps the massively complex, culturally fraught and highly contested history of a collection that exists only in versions of itself. What is referred to collectively as Arabian Nights’ Entertainments has at its core a lost Persian storybook called Hazar Afsanah, which consisted mainly of tales imported from India. Once translated into Arabic, in the eighth or ninth centuries, it received the title Alf Khurafa (A Thousand Stories) but was later referred to as Alf Laila (A Thousand Nights). By the late 12th century, with the addition of stories from Middle Eastern countries, the collection flourished as Alf Laila wa Laila (A Thousand Nights and One Night), becoming the source material for the first Western translation."

--------------------------------

"Eastern Dreams reminds us of the racing energy of story. The collection may be contained by a frame story, but it knows no boundaries. Ameba-like, it moves across cultures and centuries, absorbing new material as it is translated and transculturated. In the West, it has become a repository not only of Eastern tales but also of what Nurse calls “Western thought, perception and popular fiction concerning the Muslim East.” Oxygenated rather than depleted by each new cultural contact, The Thousand and One Nights reminds us that stories are infinitely expansive.

To be sure, there are many elements of imperial appropriation, cultural misunderstanding and racial stereotyping in the story of the collection and its international fortunes. But that is a story different from the one Nurse tells. In his reading, the stories have become a “co-operative product of both East and West – practically the only classic of world literature that has developed through the efforts of two cultures that are sometimes at violent odds with one another.”

Maria Tatar is the author of Enchanted Hunters: The Power of Stories in Childhood and The Annotated Brothers Grimm. She chairs the Program in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University."

Open Sesame - Kool & the Gang

2011-08-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

Get down with the Genie!

Open Sesame - Kool And The Gang - Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack

Review of Andrei Codrescu’s _whatever gets you through the night: a story of sheherezade and the arabian entertainments_ (2011)

2011-08-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

From 1001 Nights

Review of Andrei Codrescu’s whatever gets you through the night: a story of sheherezade and the arabian entertainments (2011).

Princeton University Press: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9392.html

On the first day of class each quarter I tend to tell the students a little about myself. Most of the students in Revelle (I currently teach at UCSD’s Revelle College Humanities Writing Program) are science majors, from solid academic backgrounds, and many of them are beginning, what I foresee to be, successful and long careers as scientists, engineers and doctors.

As such, and being freshman undergrads for the most part, they often have little understanding of what a humanities graduate student is, or even what the humanities is, or why it might be important to their lives. So I set myself up against this task each quarter, for both them and to try to answer these questions for myself, and begin by declaring their sections with me to be the most important class they will ever take in their lives…

It’s a kind of cheesy and high and mighty statement to be sure, but it’s one, beneath the self-deprecatory remarks, that I really believe, not because of myself or my personal role in their class, but because of the importance of the material, the importance in its role in understanding their selves.

I also tell them that I am a Literature major and that the reason I am most interested in Literature, and the (also kind of cheesy and high and mighty) reason why I think it’s the most important thing in the world to study, or read, or write or talk about, is that it is the study of life at its most true, via stories.

Stories are the things that drive us along each day, ping ponging through it all, they are the first things that wake us up, the last things that put us to sleep, and the things that confuse us as dreams during the night. Without stories you can’t have life, you can’t have any of the secondary, lesser units of humanity: engineering, politics, science, dna, robotics, nuclear physics, mathematics, economics, astrobiology or whatever.

It’s why I’m drawn to the Nights.

It’s also a very long, but related, introduction to this post, my review of/reflections on Andrei Codrescu’s whatever gets you through the night: a story of sheherezade and the arabian entertainments, and why I find it so interesting.

On page 153 Codrescu writes:

“The fold was the manner in which words were hinged to time in order to make one story attach to one another; we could also call this a drive, the mechanism that propelled words to gain dimensions, first as a story, then as an oft-repeated story traveling the world through storytellers, then as a three-dimensional object performed for an audience, and finally, after having gained sufficient circulation and weight, as flesh. Flesh was story in all its dimensions. Yes, Sheherezade discovered that words could be made flesh; storied characters became alive through telling and then stayed alive as long as they were told by others, dying only when they stopped traveling, when their seed dried up and their bodies shrank to nothing.”

Codrescu, incredibly prolific poet, writer, fictionist, professor, thinker, one of the voices on the cool PBS documentary on Coney Island I just happened to view last week & etc., (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Codrescu), gets to the meat of the Nights, and to storytelling itself, in his book.

I have to admit I wasn’t expecting what this book was when I got it, I was expecting another vaguely Nights based riff on something or other to do with the Middle East, Ali Baba, or some romantic this or that.

What Codrescu does, however, is reinvents the Nights for the 21^st century in a very exciting way. His book is a “new” “translation” of the Nights, or at least some of its beginning stories, but is also a compendium of Nights related lore, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Greek mythology, Plato’s Symposium, Saddam Hussein, Deleuze & Guatteri, Edward Said, Richard F. Burton, Edward Lane, Andrew Lang, Husain Haddawy, feminism, circumcision, underage brides, the contemporary Middle East, Wikipedia, DNA science, the past, the future, and present, among other things….

At its best the book is a sort of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead for the Nights. It gets into the corners of previously unrevealed, yet nagging, things, and presents them: What was the sex like for Shahriyar every night with a new bride? What was it about Scheherazade’s stories that made Shahriyar not kill her? What was Dinarzad doing in their bed and why wasn’t that weird, or was it?? Who was Scheherazade exactly, and perhaps most importantly, what did she do all day while waiting for her king to return in the evening? What are those people doing with those pearls (read the book!)??! How do you spell “Scheherazade” exactly?

All of these questions, and some possible answers, are suggestively brought up throughout the book in an at times playful, at times brutal, at times academic, at times popular, at times digressive, at times self-reflexive, at times factually incorrect, at times suggestively right-on, prose.

His book dives into the center of the Nights, and, like a family therapist, tries to get everyone together at the table to talk about things. We finally get to see Haddawy and Burton and Galland together, talking to one another, as indeed they truly are, and have been, for decades:

“Richard F. Burton, or Clotho, the “spinner,” began to spin the story of what happened before Sheherezade assumed her storytelling destiny, with another invocation to Allah. He said, ‘Praise be to Allah, the Compassionating, Lord of Three Worlds…,’ and so on, through all of Allah’s ninety-nine official names plus ones he set himself to inventing, such as ‘Who set up the Firmament without Pillars in its Stead and Who stretched out the Earth even as a Bed…’ until Husain Haddawy, Lachesis, the allotter, interrupted him angrily, exclaiming, ‘Why can’t you just say, ‘God knows and sees best’?’ Galland laughed. This was not his duel.” (76)

The stories, as they are told here, and really, as they exist in the Nights and its textual identities, come second for the most part. Codrescu finally, however, situates its storyteller, the fecund Scheherazade (or “Sheherezade”) as the focal point of the point of the Nights, as the Eve character of life, as indeed she should be, and manages somehow to overcome all of the seriousness that so many approach the Nights with, and find a kernel of its true essence within the net that he works in.

His book is peppered with “facts” that don’t seem to add up, just like most of the “facts” surrounding the history of the Nights, and his extensive footnotes rival Burton’s, both in length and in attempts at providing a Burtonesque shock value where footnotes and other appendages overshadow the actual text itself:

At one point, in footnote 46 (pages 78-9), he delves into artistic representations of Christ throughout history, “The wound in the side is sometimes depicted so that its meaty edges allow for a view to the interior of Christ’s body: the bleeding carnal edges resemble a menstruating vagina or bleeding mouth.”...

The book opens with a quote from the Wikipedia page on the Nights, and a more appropriate form to suggestively have define something as nebulous as the Nights probably doesn’t exist. The wiki page is rife with errors, political fighting, cultural battles, misunderstood conclusions, and a lot of crazy junk. A lot like the stories in the Nights. A lot like life itself. And it can be changed by anyone willing to edit it, and battled over by hordes of wiki editors and other experts armed with this book or that to quote from.

I wonder if people who are unfamiliar with the Nights - my own cursory conversational research suggests there are quite a lot - will appreciate the insider’s view of the Nights that Codrescu provides, or that they will find the stories and their constant sidetracked highways particularly compelling or pleasant reading, or that they will know what’s going on with this guy Burton, or Haddawy, or Galland, but that’s not the point of the book, and a reader insisting on a romantic or Middle Eastern infused Nights, or a clear definition of the Nights, will surely be confused, if not provoked.

whatever gets you through the night is a remarkable addition to the unstoppable history of the 1001 Nights, and it ends unfinished in the future, with the still living Scheherazade, and her endless stories, piled on top of each other forward over time by humankind, waiting to be told, to be revealed, to be laughed at, so that we, and Shahriyar, want to live one more day, to hear another story, to never see the end, to understand ourselves and others, to see ourselves stripped onstage, in the spotlight, and living forever.

And here is John Lennon, too:

Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story (2009)

2011-08-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

From 1001 Nights

Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story (2009) is a film from Egypt featuring a contemporary Egyptian retelling of some (it seems!) aspects of the Nights.

NYT review: http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/movies/scheherazade-tell-me-a-story-review.html

"A TV Host Seeks Fluff, but Real Life Intrudes
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
Published: August 11, 2011

Resetting “The Arabian Nights” in modern-day Cairo, “Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story” presents an environment of oppressive politics and repressed women.

There’s nothing stifling, however, about Wahid Hamed’s razor-sharp screenplay or Yousry Nasrallah’s exuberant direction. Repurposing the soapy structure and gaudy style of Egyptian melodrama, both men cleverly expose a society hobbled by fear of female autonomy. Central to the story is Hebba (Mona Zakki), a popular talk-show host whose preening new husband, Karim (Hassan El Raddad), wants her to abandon the political criticism she favors until he wins a coveted promotion at his state-run job.

To please him Hebba switches to what she believes will be fluff pieces on the lives of regular women. Her strategy backfires (in a canny reversal of the Scheherazade fable) when each successive real-life account evolves into an ever-more-horrifying struggle against legally sanctioned male entitlement. In the Arab world even love, it seems, is political."

Pola Negri - Sumurun / One Arabian Night (1920)

2011-08-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a poster from the film Sumurun aka One Arabian Night (1920) with Pola Negri.

From 1001 Nights

Axe Bahia - Ali Baba (Tres Deseos)

2011-08-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

Your popular culture Nights fix of the week comes from the formidable continent of South America, the pop band Axe Bahia of Brazil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ax%C3%A9_Bahia) sings (and dances to) "Ali Baba (Tres Deseos)" ("Three Wishes"):

Arabian Nights Dinner Show, Orlando Florida

2011-08-04T00:40:00.000-07:00

The Arabian Nights takes center stage in Orlando Florida, as a sort of horse-themed show which you are supposed to watch while you eat dinner. I haven't been yet!

Here is a video someone made with some Matrix inspired beats:

Here is their website in case you ever find yourself in Orlando:

http://www.arabian-nights.com/

And from the site!:

"Scheherazade is joined by her father’s genie Abra Cadabra and her own young genie Hocus Pocus, whose magic grows stronger with each spell to entertain the princess. Hocus and Abra bring many of Scheherazade’s favorite childhood tales to life in an effort to both entertain her and improve Hocus’ magical skills.

On this magical night, Scheherazade also learns that the prince of her dreams, Prince Khalid, is real and that he also dreams of finding her."

Howard the Duck 1st Annual 1977

2011-07-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

The following are scans (excerpts for my (non-commercial, educational) blog!) from the comic book Howard the Duck from 1977 with a Nights theme. The ending of the story is a direct lift of/riff on 1944 Thief of Bagdad. I don't know much about Howard, besides the movie from the 80s is widely panned as being one of the worst films ever made. Wiki on Howard (the wikipedia page says he's existentialist!): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_the_duck

Here are my scans, each one a different file, I picked some particularly Nights-esque pages, there is a "view in full screen" button at the bottom of each page that makes it easier to see close up.

Howard Cover

Bag Mom

Underground

Hall

Thief

Mish Alf Layla wa Layla - مش ألف ليله وليله

2011-07-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

Last year saw the premiere of the show "Mish Alf Layla wa Layla" ("Not The 1001 Nights"), a serial Egyptian television program.

Many thanks to the anonymous visitor who posted about the show, although, curiously, said visitor shortly after deleted it.

Here are some youtube videos from the show, the first is a sort of serious commercial about it, the second a commercial highlighting the show's humor and the third a commercial featuring the theme song, sung by Abou El Leef.

Glad to see the show's title, finally, something is admitting to "not" being the Nights!

Julie Harris reads Scheherazade

2011-07-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a record I picked up on ebay recently:

From 1001 Nights

some details about it from musicstack.com

Condition: Vg

Label: Caedmon Records TC 1373

Genre: Spoken Word

Release Country: Usa

Release Date: 1957

Artist: JULIE HARRIS
Album: THE ARABIAN NIGHTS / STORY OF SCHEHERAZADE
Catalog Number: TC 1373
Vinyl Condition: VG
Year Pressed: 1957
Format/Size: 33 - 12"
Additional features:
25-P-58

Aziz and Aziza in Arabic

2011-07-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a contemporary rendering of the story "Aziz and Aziza" I found on youtube. It's in Arabic but it's very simple Arabic, so if you study the language at all it should be easy to follow.

Treasure Comics (1945)

2011-07-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of Treasure Comics #2 from 1945.

From 1001 Nights

Details below from mycomicshop.com:

"Cover Details
Genre Adventure
Pencils H. C. Kiefer (Signed)

Inks H.C. Kiefer (Signed)

10 page Arabian Knight story "The Thief of Bagdad"
Genre Adventure
Pencils H. C. Kiefer
Inks H. C. Kiefer"

Luminato!

2011-06-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the opening of the Nights related stage production at Luminato, Toronto's art festival. The Nights show runs through June 19. It is directed by Tim Supple, who spent the better part of the past year, and more, traveling around the Middle East, rehearsing, and culling actors from the world stage, in order to present an "authentic" experience. The so-called "Arab Spring" got in the way several times and he had to adjust his locations.

Here are a bunch of links, many thanks to Paul and Moti for passing them on.

From the show's site: http://www.luminato.com/2011/1001nights

"A startling new theatrical version of an Arabic classic.

Dramatized and directed by Tim Supple

Stories adapted by Hanan al-Shaykh

In Luminato’s most ambitious commission to date, British director Tim Supple (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Luminato 2008) unites with acclaimed Lebanese novelist Hanan al-Shaykh to unearth the true character of the One Thousand and One Nights.

Written in Arabic from tales gathered in India, Persia, across the great Arab Empire, the One Thousand and One Nights are the mesmerizing stories told by Shahrazad night after night, under sentence of death, to the king Shahrayar who has vowed to marry a virgin every night and kill her in the morning. Erotic, brutal, witty, and poetic, the tales tell of the real and supernatural, love and marriage, power and punishment, rich and poor, and the endless trials and uncertainties of fate.

Created with artists from throughout the Arabic speaking world, this spectacular theatre event is performed in Arabic, French, and English (with surtitles) and is told over two compelling parts, each of which can be seen and enjoyed on its own, or together on the same day for a truly intoxicating Festival experience.

Commissioned by Luminato.
This production includes mature content. Parental discretion is recommended."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the Toronto Star: http://www.toronto.com/article/687780--1001-nights-sex-violence-and-political-tension

A utopian vision of the play's rehearsal:

"For this company of two dozen actors and musicians from around the Arabic world, this isn’t just a serious theatrical project that they believe in, it’s also an exercise in self-definition, as well as an almost magical piece of bonding that none of them ever dreamed of taking part in.

Although they share the same religion, the same basic language and many of the same basic traditions, Moroccans normally do not work with Egyptians, and Syrians have little to do with those from Tangier.
But all that has changed in the course of these rehearsals and the man who has made all of this happen sits on the floor like everyone else, holding tightly to one knee as he views his handiwork.

Tim Supple is known to Toronto audiences from his fantastic production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, set all across India, which electrified Luminato and the world in 2008."

The demand for the real:

"He takes great pains to point out that the versions of Alf Layla wa-Layla (as 1001 Nights was originally called) that we have come to know in the west are corruptions and betrayals of the work.
“There is no Ali Baba, he was the creation of the first French translator. Even the whole concept of calling it The Arabian Nights came from its English translator.

These are not fairytales for children. These are bold, often brutal, stories in which an entire culture reveals itself to us.”"

And -

"Walking through the winding streets of Fes, where donkeys, not cars, are the major mode of transportation and 785 mosques, some with the capacity of 20,000, welcome people to worship, it’s easy to see his point. Time hasn’t exactly stood still here, but it walks more slowly than perhaps anywhere else in the world.

“We are closer here than anywhere else in the Arab world to the real traditions, the true beliefs that still govern people and that makes it an amazing place to be,” affirms Supple.

But who are these people taking part in the project? Before returning to rehearsals, many of them wanted to talk about the countries they left to perform this show and how they felt about them.

“I feel that Tim Supple is like Saladin,” says Asaad Bouab, a Moroccan who now lives in France. “He united the Arab world in the 12the century and now Tim is uniting us. Politics was never a big part of my world until I started working with this cast. Now I have to share their feelings, their concerns."

_________________________________________________________

From the Times UK. May 9, 2011. "One Thousand and One Nights couldn't be more timely" by Benedict Nightingale.

More insistence on the real Nights:

"Supple, too, finds the stories far tougher than he expected. Western translation began in the 18th century and emphasised what was exotic in them, adding Ali Baba, Aladdin and other tales not in the original. But what he calls the “deceit and manipulation” was twosided.

Eastern versions were also distorted, becoming didactic and ideological “about bashing Christians, killing Jews or punishing women”: a racism contradicted by one of the funniest of his 20 chosen stories, in which a Jewish doctor, a Muslim cook and a Christian trader are equally menaced and forgiven when they mistakenly confess to having killed a king’s pet hunchback.

There are no swishing scimitars, baggy pantaloons or pantomime effects here, though the costumes are likely to vary from Arab medieval to Arab modern. These stories are, Supple says, folk tales from the old Arab cities and, for all their imaginative zest, reflect the concerns of people then and now:

“At their heart there’s a serious investigation into every aspect of social life: marriage, power, money, law, love, hate, parents and children. They’re graphic, startling, bleak, joyous and brutal about sex, violence and all human relations. Given the present situation there’s bound to be a focus on power and how people cope with rulers and their tyrannical decisions, but we won’t underline this . . .

“And there’s another revolution in the Arab world that shouldn’t be overshadowed: the position of women. How can men and women live together? How should men ask or force women to live? How should women be?” In the stories the answers come from strong, resourceful women who use their wiles to get their own way.

Many actors told me that the stories bring alive a world in some ways freer than their own. For instance, there are no religious extremists or Islamic enforcers in The Nights.

Wine flows. Sex delights males and females alike. Law exists for poor and rich, women and men, even if, as today, it is sometimes misused by kings and viziers. Indeed, The Nights can be seen as Shahrazad’s canny way of educating Shahrayar. “She teaches him to trust others,” Al-Shaykh says. “I ended up saying I’m sorry, Shahrazad. I thought you were a cliché and you’re amazing.”"

________________________________________________________

And from the Jewish Daily Forward: http://forward.com/articles/138268/

"Supple Nights Promised in Toronto

A British-Jewish Director Re-Presents a Grown-Up Legend"

"To direct an elaborate, ambitious new production of “One Thousand and One Nights” — translated by a Lebanese novelist and starring a pan-Arab cast — Toronto’s splashy Luminato arts festival turned to a British Jew. But director Tim Supple has built a career on connecting cultures: Acclaimed for bold reboots of stage classics, he brought “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to India, “Twelfth Night” to British TV and “Midnight’s Children” to New York City’s Apollo Theater. With Arab-world turmoil as the real-life backdrop for “intense” rehearsals of “Nights” in Fes, Morocco, Supple talked to the Forward’s Michael Kaminer by e-mail."

Supple on his Jewish roots in this interview:

"It seems significant that a Jewish director is behind a massively ambitious production of a story with Middle Eastern roots, translated by a Lebanese author, with actors from Algeria, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. What kind of perspective do you feel you’re bringing to the material?

My work on the project is as an artist working with other artists. My perspective comes from my past as a theater director. This past has been largely in the U.K., but has also involved much work and learning from elsewhere — Europe, India, North America, the Far East. So I bring many influences to this work. My family’s roots have never once struck me as relevant."

How the work is, to the interviewer, and director I suppose, political:

"Your organization, Dash Arts, is currently presenting an Arabic series to “challenge preconceived notions of Arabic culture, offering new perspectives and unheard voices.” It sounds like that kind of work is needed in the United States. Any plans?

Yes. We hope to take “One Thousand and One Nights” around as widely as possible. We would like to also ensure that our hugely successful dance piece, “Babel,” plays in the U.S. Our next project, the “Tribute to Oum Kalsoum,” will also be something we want to share with U.S. audiences.

What’s the biggest misconception about the work that you think your production will address?

That the “Nights” are a collection of fantasy adventures for children, coming from a generally exotic source. They are not; they are brutal, erotic, witty and complex explorations of the major challenges of adult life — marriage, sex, money, power and fate. They come from specific roots in Arabic-Islamic history, and they come from a culture that we must stop seeing as hostile and inferior. It’s neither."

The Grateful Dead

2011-06-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

From what I have found, The Grateful Dead (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grateful_Dead) have at least two songs with mentions of the Nights: "What's Become of the Baby?" and "Blues for Allah." Both songs interestingly, well perhaps not that interestingly, conflate the Nights with a Romanticized notion of Islam.

Here are the relevant song lyrics with links to a cool UC Santa Cruz academic website about the Dead and their songs:

"What's Become of the Baby?"

From the album: AOXOMOXOA (1969). Song: http://artsites.ucsc.edu/GDead/agdl/baby.html

"Sheherazade gathering stories to tell
from primal gold fantasy petals that fall
But where is the child
who played with the sun chimes
and chased the cloud sheep
to the regions of rhyme?"

Here's a mix of the song (can you smell the patchouli?!):

-----------------------------

"Blues for Allah"

From the Album: Blues for Allah (1975)

http://artsites.ucsc.edu/GDead/agdl/allah.html

"The thousand stories have
come round to one again
Arabian Night
our gods pursue their fight
What fatal flowers of
darkness spring from
seeds of light"

Historical Background of the Nights

2011-06-02T11:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a recent (April 2011) lecture I just chanced upon while procrastinating online, it is by John Curry from the University of Nevada Reno and is on teaching the 1001 Nights, though it is largely a historical background of the end of the Sasanid Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad.

I tried to save the audio to my computer but haven't figured out how to yet. As for now the lecture is up on the digital commons page at UNLV:

http://digitalcommons.library.unlv.edu/english_lectures_events/11/

Kyle Ward's Arabian Knights (bought by Universal)

2011-05-18T21:26:00.001-07:00

New movie in pipeline possibly (though not related to this or next year's 3D Arabian Nights, according to the article) related to the Nights, bought by Universal, according to Variety.

This one is written and pitched by Kyle Ward. How does one write and pitch I wonder. Seems more lucrative than grading papers somehow, not as cool though, you have to admit.

Whole article here: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118037163

excerpt: "Universal Pictures is in final negotiations to acquire "Arabian Knights," a property from Blacklight Transmedia and feature scribe Kyle Ward, who is attached to script based on his own pitch.

Story details are under wraps, though the property is described as being radically different from FilmDistrict's "Arabian Nights" pic, which has Liam Hemsworth attached.

Blacklight's Zak Kadison will produce with Brian Grazer and Erica Huggins of Imagine Entertainment, while Eric Lieb will exec produce. Jeff Kirschenbaum and Kiska Higgs will oversee the project for Universal.

Studio previously acquired Ward's spec script "Fiasco Heights," which is set up at Platinum Dunes. Ward also wrote "Kane and Lynch" for Lionsgate and "Hitman 2" for 20th Century Fox. He is currently penning vidgame adaptation "Devil May Cry" for Screen Gems."

The Night Counter - Alia Younis

2011-05-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Night Counter is a new Nights-related fictional novel written by Alia Younis, who teaches at Zayed University in the UAE.

Book website/author blog: http://www.aliayunis.com/thebook.html

About the book (from the above site):

"Fatima Abdullah has been alive 85 long years, and she knows when her time will come. In fact, it should come just nine days from tonight, the 992nd nightly visit of the beautiful and immortal Scheherazade.

Each night, Fatima has told Scheherazade her life stories, all the while knowing that on the 1001st night, her storytelling will end forever. But between tonight and night 1001, Fatima has a few loose ends to tie up. She must find a wife for her openly gay grandson, teach Arabic (and birth control) to her 17-year-old great-granddaughter, make amends with her estranged husband, and decide which of her troublesome children should inherit her family's home in Lebanon--a house she herself has not seen in nearly 70 years. All this while under the surveillance of two bumbling FBI agents eager to uncover Al Qaeda in L.A.

Alia Yunis unravels four generations of Abdullah family secrets with a great sense of comic timing and a deft touch of magical realism. Touching on the histories of both the United States and the Middle East over the last one hundred years, this is a love story that crosses five generations with wit and warmth."

And here is a review by student Karina Anne Kabbash: http://kkabbash.blogspot.com/2010/11/night-counter.html

Excerpt from the review:

"Recently, I finished reading a fantastic novel by the name of The Night Counter. The fiction begins on the 992 night of storytelling by Fatima Abdullah, a Lebanese-immigrant-grandmother, to Scheherazade, the immortal storyteller from The Arabian Nights. Over the course of nine days, Fatima shares the stories of her home in Lebanon and of her life in the United States, until the 1001 night, the night her storytelling ends forever. Scheherazade brings Fatima’s stories to life by searching out the characters within them and following them for a day or two. Through Fatima’s tales and Scheherazade’s journeys, the reader is awarded a wonderful glimpse into life of an Arab immigrant to the Untied States and her struggle to reconcile her Arab self within American society, as well as the cultural changes that occur across generations in an Arab-American family."

French Filmmaker Producing Film about Opa Locka, Florida

2011-05-09T12:44:00.000-07:00

I've written before (check Labels on the sidebar for "urban spaces" or "opa locka") about the city of Opa Locka, Florida, USA. It is an economically depressed urban area with a history interestingly related to the Nights, several government buildings are built in "Eastern" styles and many of the streets have Nights-related names.

Now a film is being made about the city by French filmmaker Armand Morin.

I've quoted from The Miami Herald below. Complete Article link is here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/03/2188131/french-filmmaker-producing-documentary.html

"The documentary is expected to be released in June and is scheduled to appear in the Panorama 13 film festival in the northern French city of Lille. The city will receive free copies by June 2011 and will schedule a screening."

French filmmaker producing documentary about two sides of Opa-locka

By Ines Mato

Special to The Miami Herald

5/3/11

"Opa-locka’s Moorish architecture evokes tales of the Arabian Nights. But the neighborhoods surrounding the historic district reflect the harsh realities of residents who face unemployment and high crime rates.

This contrast was what drew Armand Morin, a French filmmaker, to direct Opa-locka Will Be Beautiful.

“I have been fascinated by two things: the history of this Moorish architecture and the fact that the community goes beyond this heritage and has to struggle with everyday challenges,” Morin said.
Through the voices of Opa-locka leaders and residents, the 30-minute documentary produced by Le Fresnoy connects the Arabian-themed roots of the city with the urban society of the present time.

In the first scene, a voiceover narrates how aviation pioneer and 1920s developer Glenn Curtiss founded the city inspired by the Arabian Nights. Following Curtiss’ fantasy, architect Bernard Muller designed buildings and houses that resembled the Arabian architectural style. According to University of Miami architecture teacher Jean-Francois Lejeune, the Opa-locka City Hall was once the center for Arabic festivals.

Lejeune also explains that Opa-locka was first built as a leisure place. The city featured a golf course, a zoo and a swimming pool. However, through the years, Opa-locka began to lose its leisure spaces and became a more urbanized place.

Now, far from the Arabian fantasy, Morin found a society that struggles with a rough economy and high crime rates.

"The city has a problem with crime and drugs. I think this is a problem of education and professional opportunities for the people," Morin said.

Even though the Arabian dream died a long time ago, the desire for change is still in the residents’ minds, especially in Opa-locka Community Development Corporation CEO Willie Logan’s mind, Morin said.

"You can see that this idea of having a vision for the city has always been very important. From Glenn Curtiss’ Arabian fantasy to Logan’s more pragmatic plan," Morin said.

Morin said that Logan intends to preserve the history, industry and architecture of the city, while at the same time improving the neighborhoods’ facades."

Interpreting The 1001 Nights for the Stage - Tim Supple

2011-05-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

Tim Supple was in Abu Dhabi recently and gave a presentation on the Nights at NYU Abu Dhabi's new campus. He is the director of the Luminato project, a massive staged version of the Nights featuring actors from around the Middle East.

The video is linked here: http://nyuad.nyu.edu/news.events/video.ad.10-11.html?110410

The presentation covers his adaptation of the Nights and some of the stories being read by various people. As an aside, I am anxiously awaiting the results of a phone interview for a position at NYUAD. This waiting period is stressful...!

Here is the information on NYUAD's website:

"November 4, 2010

Interpreting The 1001 Nights for the Stage
Stage director Tim Supple’s love of dramatic story-telling began at an early age and developed into a professional reputation for adapting plays, books, stories and poems into highly visual, musical and imaginative theatrical events. Before performing some brief illustrative rehearsal sketches, Supple will discuss his work on the adaptation of The Arabian Nights for the stage.

Tim Supple Stage Director

Houda Echouafani, Lassen Razzougui and Ramzi Choukair Artists"

Jennifer Egan: What I Read

2011-05-06T21:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks to T. Papa for passing this Nights-find along. Jennifer Egan, winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for her novel A Visit from the Goon Squad, is, according to this interview, in the process of working through reading the Nights with her son, gory bits and all. I wonder which version she is using?!

Here's the link to the interview, from The Atlantic Wire's series "What I Read": http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2011/05/jennifer-egan-what-i-read/37208/

And the relevant snippet:

"If I do take the kids to school, I'll read to my younger son after we drop off the elder. For the past month or so, we've been reading the Arabian Nights, which is quite bloody and rash—we both love it. That is often the first thing I'll read in the morning on those days. Walking home from school takes 15-20 minutes, and I always listen to my iPod while walking, in part to distract me from the grocery bags I'm often lugging by that time. My morning music choices tend to be, let's say, energizing rather than sophisticated: this morning it was a couple of Lady Gaga hits from last summer: "Telephone" and "Let's Dance." If a song is putting me in the right mood, I'll often just repeat it the whole way home."

New Nights book from Andrei Codrescu

2011-05-03T23:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Paul for passing this info along. Noted poet and author Andrei Codrescu's forthcoming book is related to the Nights, here is the info from the publisher's website:

" Whatever Gets You through the Night:

A Story of Sheherezade and the Arabian Entertainments

Andrei Codrescu

Cloth | June 2011 | $22.95 / £15.95
196 pp. | 7 1/2 x 9

e-Book | June 2011 | $22.95 | ISBN: 978-1-4008-3801-1

"I fear each passing night that I will not receive my maintenance dose of suspense, and then I will cease to exist."--Whatever Gets You through the Night

Whatever Gets You through the Night is an irreverent and deeply funny retelling of the Arabian Nights and a wildly inspired exploration of the timeless art of storytelling. Award-winning writer Andrei Codrescu reimagines how Sheherezade saved Baghdad's virgins and her own life through a heroic feat of storytelling--one that kept the Persian king Sharyar hanging in agonizing narrative and erotic suspense for 1001 nights. For Sheherezade, the end of either suspense or curiosity means death, but Codrescu keeps both alive in this entertaining tale of how she learned to hold a king in thrall, setting with her endless invention an unsurpassable example for all storytellers across the ages. Liberated and mischievous, Codrescu's Sheherezade is as charming as she is shrewd--and so is the story Codrescu tells.

Andrei Codrescu is an award-winning poet, novelist, essayist, and NPR commentator. His recent books include The Posthuman Dada Guide and The Poetry Lesson (both Princeton).

Endorsements:

"Like a supercomputer concealed inside an exotic, aphrodisiac fruit, Codrescu's retelling of this ancient bawdy wonderwork ends up by surprisingly calculating the future of our race."--Tom Robbins, author of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

"This extraordinary rewriting of the Arabian Nights is a tour de force. Andrei Codrescu writes with verve, eloquence, and a fervent imagination."--Jack Zipes, adapter of the Signet Classics Arabian Nights

"This is a masterpiece of storytelling that could find its place alongside the fairy-tale works of Angela Carter, Robert Coover, and Salman Rushdie. Andrei Codrescu gives readers a new and highly entertaining experience of Sheherazade and the Arabian Nights."--Donald Haase, editor of Marvels and Tales: Journal of Fairy-Tale Studies

"Andrei Codrescu's brilliant retelling of the Arabian Nights is of the same caliber as Borges's Ficciones. A pleasure to read, it has the lightness, strength, and sparkle of a spider's web."--Cristina Bacchilega, author of Postmodern Fairy Tales"

website: http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9392.html

Scheherazade 'a role model for women'

2011-04-28T23:53:00.000-07:00

The following excerpts are from the article:

"Arabian Nights character Scheherazade 'a role model for women'"

by Manel Ismail writing in the Emirates' news-site The National

The article is about a recent talk on the feminist elements at play in the Nights and its main character/narrator the ever-reproductive Scheherazade.

Not sure what kind of role model Scheherazade is, but this speaker suggests that all women follow her example. I suppose that means....?? What do you think?

"ABU DHABI // Superwoman can fly and Wonder Woman has incredible strength but the Arabic storyteller Scheherazade may well be the best heroine of them all.

Around for hundreds of years, what makes her such a strong role model is her ability to use her mind and wit to captivate people with her enchanting tales -and not X-ray vision.

Author, professor and former journalist Alia Yunis explained why the character from 1,001 Arabian Nights is a true inspiration. She was speaking at TEDxAbuDhabiU, an event that provides a platform to exchange ideas across all industries.

The tale from the Islamic Golden Age tells the story of an Arabian king who was betrayed by his wife. He goes on to marry a series of virgins, only to execute them the following morning - until he meets Scheherazade. For 1,001 nights, she distracts him with her stories, saving her life and the lives of other women, until the king falls in love with her.

The TEDx event was held at the weekend under the theme "Dare to" and Ms Yunis dared women to follow Scheherazade's footsteps and use their experience, knowledge and skills to become superheroines."

The entire article can be read aqui: http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/arabian-nights-character-scheherazade-a-role-model-for-women

BBC - Secrets of the Arabian Nights (2011)

2011-04-20T21:57:00.000-07:00

picture from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13086639

Secrets of the Arabian Nights is a BBC Four "programme" scheduled to air shortly (tomorrow, if you are, like me, in California, later tonight if you are in London).

It seems to be a basic history of the Nights, with actor Richard E Grant narrating, and taking viewers on a tour of the Middle East, and other locations (including, I think, the National Library in Paris). Doesn't seem to add anything new to the conversation, but then again, it's always nice to see a Nights piece out at work in the world.

I'd like to see it, perhaps it will show up on youtube shortly, or somewhere else accessible. If you are in the UK, you can watch it online via the BBC's website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b010jt2h

Here is the info from their website:

"The Arabian Nights first arrived in the West 300 years ago, and ever since then its stories have entranced generations of children and seduced adults with a vision of an exotic, magical Middle East. Actor and director Richard E Grant wants to know why the book he loved as a child still has such a hold on our imagination.

He travels to Paris to discover how the stories of Sinbad, Ali Baba and Aladdin were first brought to the West by the pioneering Arabist Antoine Galland in the early 18th century. The Nights quickly became an overnight literary sensation and were quickly translated into all the major European languages. Richard then travels to Cairo to explore the medieval Islamic world which first created them.

He quickly finds that some of the stories can still be deeply controversial, because of their sexually-explicit content. Richard meets the Egyptian writer and publisher Gamal al Ghitani, who received death threats when he published a new edition of the book.

He also finds that the ribald and riotous stories in the Nights represent a very different view of Islam than fundamentalism. Can the Nights still enrich and change the West's distorted image of the Arab world?"

Here is an article from BBC News about the show:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13086639

Not sure about the article, particularly these passages, which seem based in the speculative romanticism that has forever plagued the Nights:

"The tradition of oral storytelling and embellishment down the centuries makes perfect sense when you consider that tribes of nomadic people travelled across North Africa to the Middle East and beyond to India, putting storytelling centre stage around camp fires in the evenings.

Anyone who has ever played that game where one person whispers the beginning of a story into someone else's ear and they then have to repeat and add to it, will know how a story evolves and expands very quickly.

Likewise, the oral tradition of repeating the stories that make up The Arabian Nights, told by different people over a period of 10 centuries, will be hugely variable."

Sinbad: Rogue of Mars

2011-04-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Paul for passing on this picture for the upcoming film Sinbad: Rogue of Mars, set to be released in 2012.

Sinbad in space! It's based on an old Ray Harryhausen produced comic and the film is related to Harryhausen as well. Imax & 3D (When will the new 3D revival stop?!).

From 1001 Nights

Visions of the Jinn - Robert Irwin

2011-04-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

From 1001 Nights

Robert Irwin has a new Nights book out called Visions of the Jinn that looks to shed some promising light on an under-covered topic. The book is a bit pricey, 120 pounds, but looks to be a hardback oversized coffee table type book, making its price a bit more reasonable.

Many thanks to Paul and Professor Z for passing this along.

Here is the Guardian's review, well more like a press release since it's also written by Irwin, with an excerpt pasted below. It's well worth the read for its overview of the general history of illustrators of the Nights.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/mar/12/arabian-nights-illustration

"Things changed with the publication in 1839-41 of Edward William Lane's The Thousand and One Nights in three volumes. Unlike earlier English translators, Lane, who had spent years in Egypt, translated not from Galland's French, but directly from the Arabic. Lane intended his translation to have an improving, didactic purpose and he seems to have thought of it as a kind of supplement to his pioneering work of ethnography, Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (1836). He thought that the stories of the Nights could serve as an introduction to everyday life in the Middle East. (Never mind about the flying horse, the jinn, the Roc, the magic lamp and the Old Man of the Sea.) His copious endnotes furthered his didactic aim and so did the illustrations. William Harvey, a pupil of Thomas Bewick and one of Britain's leading engravers, did the boxwood engravings, but Lane stood at his shoulder, checking the look of things and providing previously published engravings of Egyptian and Moorish architecture for him to copy. In general, the purpose of the pictures was not to stimulate the imagination or supplement the storyline, but to introduce the British reader to the authentic look of the Arab world. Just occasionally Harvey was licensed to use his imagination, as with his marvellous depiction of the giant jinni in "The Story of the City of Brass", or the battle of magical transformations in "The Story of the Second Dervish".

Dalziel's Illustrated Arabian Nights Entertainments, published in 1865, was the most spectacular illustrated edition to be published in the Victorian age. A number of famous artists were commissioned to produce pictures for it, including John Tenniel, John Everett Millais and George Pinwell. But Arthur Boyd Houghton, a less well-known illustrator, produced the most compelling and atmospheric images – masterpieces of Victorian book illustration. Although his pictures have an authentic oriental look, the orient they conjure up owes more to India than the Arab world, for Houghton had spent his childhood in India and had relatives in the Indian army.

Though selections of the Nights whose texts were designed to be read by children had been published from the late 18th century onwards, little thought had been given to what sort of illustrations might appeal to children. Walter Crane (1845-1915) was one of the first to illustrate stories from the Nights in colour and also one of the first to consider the visual tastes of children: "Children, like ancient Egyptians, appear to see things in profile, and like definite statements in design. They prefer well-designed forms and bright frank colour. They don't want to bother with three dimensions. They can accept symbolic representations. They themselves employ drawing . . . as a kind of picture writing and eagerly follow a pictured story." Crane did not merely illustrate books; he designed them in such a way that there would be a perfect match between text and image. His Aladdin's Picture Book (1876) is ravishing and, since Aladdin's story is, however notionally, set in China, he drew on Chinese and Japanese imagery.

Lane's translation of the Nights, while certainly scholarly, had been excessively prudish, as Lane excised stories and incidents with erotic content. When Richard Burton produced his translation from the Arabic in 10 volumes with six supplementary volumes (1885-8), he went to the opposite extreme and not only kept the sex scenes in but exaggerated them, and he produced extensive notes on such matters as homosexuality, bestiality and castration. The first edition of Burton's translation, which was published for subscribers only so as to lessen the danger of being prosecuted for obscenity, had no pictures, but soon after his death in 1890, a young friend and devoted admirer of Burton, Albert Letchford, produced 70 paintings which served as the basis for the illustrations in a new edition of Burton's translation that was published in 1897. Letchford had trained in Paris as an orientalist painter and he had spent time in Egypt. While hardly a great artist, he did share Burton's taste for the erotic and so nudes feature frequently in the illustrations. Moreover, he had a taste for the fantastic and some of his demons and temples are very weird indeed. He was shy and no businessman and consequently he was usually poorly paid. While still a young man, he contracted a disease in Egypt from which he later died in England.

These days adult fiction is rarely illustrated, but in the 18th and 19th centuries it was normal, and novels by Trollope, Surtees, Dickens and other much less well-known writers carried pictures. But towards the end of the 19th century, for reasons which are not clear, adult novels were no longer illustrated as a matter of course and illustrators found themselves restricted to working mostly on children's books. In the opening decade of the 20th century, gift books aimed at children became fashionable. They were expensively illustrated (and referred to by the historian of children's literature, Brian Alderson, as "cocoa-table books"). The colour plates on shiny paper were usually covered by protective sheets of tissue paper."

De Bagdad à Grenade, Miroirs des Mille et Une Nuits - 13-16 avril 2011 - Grenade, Espagne

2011-03-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

De Bagdad à Grenade, Miroirs des Mille et Une Nuits - 13-16 avril 2011 - Grenade, Espagne

This is an upcoming conference in Granada, Spain with lots of interesting sounding panels and papers. It is organized by Aboubakr Chraïbi, INALCO, Paris and Nathalie Bléser, U. de Grenade.

What a nice place for a Nights conference!

Most of the papers are in French, though a few are in English and Arabic.

You can find the whole program (mostly in French) here: http://www.inalco.fr/ina_gabarit_article.php3?id_rubrique=2640&id_article=4879&id_secteur=1

I've also uploaded it to scribd here:

Programme Colloque GRENADE

Burton & the Wortley-Montague & Oxford

2011-03-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

I chanced upon several letters in the Appendix of Volume 4 of Burton's Supplemental Nights which throw light on the situation he faced when he was in the process of translating his Nights.

He wanted to have the copy of the Wortley-Montague manuscript sent to him at the India Office from the Bodleian Library at Oxford but the board members at the library were refusing, despite Burton's insistence that he was not going to translate the racier passages or stories.

This may explain why ultimately there are several stories in the Wortley-Montague (including "Ali and his Large Member" of my previous post here: http://journalofthenights.blogspot.com/2011/03/ali-and-his-large-member.html) that Burton did not translate.

He also mentions the incident in the preface to the edition. It's in my Volume 4 but may be in different volumes depending on which edition you are looking at, the initial set of his translations from the Wortley-Montague.

He tried to have a student who didn't know Arabic at Oxford copy the manuscript for him (like drawing the same characters without knowing what they said), but the student quit after a few days!

He eventually had someone photocopy (or the equivalent?) the manuscript for him and send it to him. Ali and his large member is MIA however. I'll have to check the 1995 German edition of the manuscript to see if Ali is there. I have been officially sidetracked, though not completely off my own tracks. Studying the Nights is truly like digging in the sand.

Many thanks to Jamie at USC for the question.

There is another English edition by Jonathan Scott translated before Burton which also includes stories from the Wortley-Montague but which, and I'm not certain here and only relying on Burton's notes so far, seem to be edited for cleanliness and not to contain an extensively translated amount of stories either.

Burton's letters are interesting to read in this volume. He's quite upset with the library and ends the Appendix A of this volume with a scathing indictment of Oxford in general!

Some snippets from his letters:

"I may note that the translated tales (as may be seen by Scott's version) contain nothing indelicate or immoral; in fact the whole MS. is exceptionally pure. Moreover, the MS., as far as I can learn, is never used at Oxford" (281).

"I am acquainted with many of the public libraries of Europe, but I know of none that would throw such obstacles in the way of students" (282).

The reason for the story not being translated by Burton, however, may not be related to the incident with the Bodleian after all. As I look at Volume 5 I see his rebuttal to the library's refusal of lending the manuscript to him. He writes to them that, because of their refusal, he's now going to put in all of the racy material, even overdoing it!

He also dedicates the Volume to them:

"TO THE CURATORS OF THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY, OXFORD: Especially REVD. B. PRICE and PROFESSOR MAX MULLER."

He writes to them:

"Gentlemen,
I take the liberty of placing your names at the head of this Volume which owes its rarest and raciest passages to your kindly refusing the temporary transfer of the Wortley Montague MS. from your pleasant library to the care of Dr. Rost., Chief Librarian, India Office. As a sop to "bigotry and virtue," as a concession to the "Scribes and Pharisees," I had undertaken, in case the loan were granted, not to translate tales and passages which might expose you, the Curators, to unfriendly comment. But, possibly anticipating what injury would thereby accrue to the Volume and what sorrow to my subscribers, you were good enough not to sanction the transfer - indeed you refused it to me twice - and for this step my Clientele will be (or ought to be) truly thankful to you.

I am, Gentlemen,
Yours obediently,
RICHARD F. BURTON

BODLEIAN LIBRARY, August 5th, 1888."

"Ali and his large member" is not in this volume under this title. Perhaps the story is inside another story or titled differently by Burton? Perhaps the story doesn't really exist??

PS RICHARD F BURTON IS NOW ON TWITTER!: http://twitter.com/#!/mirzaburton

Ali and his Large "Member"

2011-03-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

A visitor has asked me an interesting question, they are interested in the story "Ali and his large member" (yes that kind of member), but I don't know too much about it.

I did some very minor looking around and this is what I came up with, I'll have to double-check my Burton but I think he didn't translate all of the stories from the Wortley-Montague manuscript, although this one seems like something he may have been interested in taking a look at.

It's only in the so called Wortley Montague manuscript, not found in any other version before it. This was published in, or dated to 1764, according to the Arabian Nights Encyclopedia.

The story is on pages 682-692.

This (Arabic) manuscript is in the Bodleian Library. It's not a translation and has Wortley-Montague's name attached to it because he owned it.

There is a German translation of the Nights from this manuscript by Felix Tauer that may contain this story, according to the Encyclopedia. I think the title is Neue Erzählungen aus den Tausendundein Nächten.

Apart from that there doesn't seem to be any other mention of the story in any other version of the Nights.

Anyone else know something more/different?

Thanks,

Michael

Note to Aristotle's Poetics by Henry James Pye (1792)

2011-03-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

I came across this while browsing some other related topic (the original topic I've long forgotten!). Perhaps where you end up is just as well as where you begin.

It is a short essay with references to the Nights by Henry James Pye, from 1792. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_James_Pye)

Its title is "Note to Aristotle's Poetics" and I found it at this website on English poetry:

http://spenserians.cath.vt.edu/TextRecord.php?action=GET&textsid=35239

"EVEN IN THE EPOPEE THE FABLES SHOULD HAVE A DRAMATIC FORM, AND RELATE TO ONE ENTIRE AND COMPLEAT ACTION, WHICH HAS A BEGINNING, A MIDDLE, AND AN END.

It has been already observed that in every fictitious tale, independently of technical rules, it is impossible to keep up the attention and interest of the piece without confining the time of the fable within a certain boundary. This rule of nature is confirmed by the practice of all our good novel writers. I will not only instance the novels of Fielding, who as being a scholar, and rather fond of shewing he was, may be supposed to display his acquaintance with the precepts of the Stagirite, or rather the models from whence they are drawn: but those of Richardson, of Mrs. Smith, and of Miss Burney, who cannot be supposed to be influenced by any pedantry of this kind. Even in those novels which are written on what Dr. Beattie calls the historical plan, such as Peregrine Pickle and Roderick Random, though they begin with the infancy of the hero, they by no means compleat his life. The first events are rather preparatory to, than part of the main object of the story, the body of which, or to speak dramatically, the plot, is the love of the principal characters, as the solution of it, or catastrophe, is their marriage.

The mode used by the orientals to give a species of unity to their complicated fables is very singular. Of this the Arabian Nights exhibit a curious specimen. A general story, or ground-work for the whole, is first formed. This is the bloody vow of the sultan in consequence of the sultana's infidelity, the generous resolution of the vizir's daughter, and her final triumph. Into this the other stories are woven, but the introductory tale is continually brought to our recollection by the conversation that precedes the narrative of every night. Every story is besides branched out into a number of others, to each of which it serves as a common bond of union, as the original one is to the whole.

By this strange contrivance an appearance of general unity is kept up without the least of that effect which is proposed as the consequence of unity; as the mind is disagreeably perplexed by the broken chain of the narrative, expectation is suspended till all interest in the fable is lost, and instead of perspicuity confusion is produced. This arrangement is preserved in the first half of Mr. Galland's translation. In the latter part he has given such separate stories as struck him, without dividing the nights, or preserving any connexion between them, except the catastrophe of the leading fable. Mr. Andrews in his Anecdotes, gives a humorous reason for M. Galland's change of conduct. But I believe the principal cause of it was the length of the original work, which he has greatly abridged, as will be apparent on comparing the number of nights in that part of his translation where they are noticed, which is a full half of his work, with the compleat number of a thousand and one.

Dr. Beattie seems to question the authenticity of this work. I think the reason he urges; (the French features given it by M. Galland,) can have no weight with a person who has ever read a French translation from any language. Whoever will compare this work even through the medium of a French translation with the many WESTERN oriental tales, to which it has given birth, will see strong marks of original and real character. But I believe the authenticity of this work is capable of stronger proof. I have been informed that Professor White has a compleat copy in Arabic. Mr. Richardson also, in his Arabic Grammar, has printed one of the fables at length in the original language, and quoted verses from another which are not translated by M. Galland, though the tale from which they are taken is.

This mode of narration was adopted by Ariosto, and was copied from him by our countryman Spenser.

As for Ariosto, his imagination is so brilliant, his subject so wonderfully varied

From grave to gay, from lively to severe:

there is such a mingled vein of sublimity, and humour, running through the whole work, that notwithstanding the many absurdities it contains, and such a total want of connexion in the incidents, that to enable the reader at all to follow the thread of the scattered tales, the commentators have been obliged to have recourse to inartificial assistance or marginal references; yet we can hardly wish it to have been in any respect different from what it is. But as the work of Spenser is entirely of a serious cast, our taste is more fastidious, and indeed the attempt at uniformity, which is avowed by the author, causes us to be more disgusted both with the want of it in the Cantos that are preserved, and the apparent inadequacy of the whole plan proposed, had it been compleatly carried into execution. The unity produced by the introduction of a general kind of secondary hero pervading the whole, must have been very awkward and very uninteresting. Prince Arthur engaged as an assistant to the several allegorical heroes in their respective adventures, would have exactly resembled the pentathlete, as described by Plato, who, however skilful he might be in the contest with those who like himself were trained to the practice of various exercises, was always inferior to those athletes who applied themselves to one only, in that particular exercise."

Recollections of the Arabian Nights - Tennyson

2011-03-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

Here is the poem "Recollections of the Arabian Nights" by English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Originally published in 1830. More on Tennyson: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred,_Lord_Tennyson

Recollections of the Arabian Nights

When the breeze of a joyful dawn blew free

In the silken sail of infancy,

The tide of time flow'd back with me,

The forward-flowing tide of time;

And many a sheeny summer-morn,

Adown the Tigris I was borne,

By Bagdat's shrines of fretted gold,

High-walled gardens green and old;

True Mussulman was I and sworn,

For it was in the golden prime

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

Anight my shallop, rustling thro'

The low and bloomed foliage, drove

The fragrant, glistening deeps, and clove

The citron-shadows in the blue:

By garden porches on the brim,

The costly doors flung open wide,

Gold glittering thro' lamplight dim,

And broider'd sofas on each side:

In sooth it was a goodly time,

For it was in the golden prime

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

Often where clear-stemm'd platans guard

The outlet, did I turn away

The boat-head down a broad canal

From the main river sluiced, where all

The sloping of the moon-lit sward

Was damask-work, and deep inlay

Of braided blooms unmown, which crept

Adown to where the water slept.

A goodly place, a goodly time,

For it was in the golden prime

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

A motion from the river won

Ridged the smooth level, bearing on

My shallop thro' the star-strown calm,

Until another night in night

I enter'd, from the clearer light,

Imbower'd vaults of pillar'd palm,

Imprisoning sweets, which, as they clomb

Heavenward, were stay'd beneath the dome

Of hollow boughs. -- A goodly time,

For it was in the golden prime

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

Still onward; and the clear canal

Is rounded to as clear a lake.

From the green rivage many a fall

Of diamond rillets musical,

Thro' little crystal arches low

Down from the central fountain's flow

Fall'n silver-chiming, seemed to shake

The sparkling flints beneath the prow.

A goodly place, a goodly time,

For it was in the golden prime

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

Above thro' many a bowery turn

A walk with vary-colour'd shells

Wander'd engrain'd. On either side

All round about the fragrant marge

From fluted vase, and brazen urn

In order, eastern flowers large,

Some dropping low their crimson bells

Half-closed, and others studded wide

With disks and tiars, fed the time

With odour in the golden prime

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

Far off, and where the lemon grove

In closest coverture upsprung,

The living airs of middle night

Died round the bulbul as he sung;

Not he: but something which possess'd

The darkness of the world, delight,

Life, anguish, death, immortal love,

Ceasing not, mingled, unrepress'd,

Apart from place, withholding time,

But flattering the golden prime

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

Black the garden-bowers and grots

Slumber'd: the solemn palms were ranged

Above, unwoo'd of summer wind:

A sudden splendour from behind

Flush'd all the leaves with rich gold-green,

And, flowing rapidly between

Their interspaces, counterchanged

The level lake with diamond-plots

Of dark and bright. A lovely time,

For it was in the golden prime

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

Dark-blue the deep sphere overhead,

Distinct with vivid stars inlaid,

Grew darker from that under-flame:

So, leaping lightly from the boat,

With silver anchor left afloat,

In marvel whence that glory came

Upon me, as in sleep I sank

In cool soft turf upon the bank,

Entranced with that place and time,

So worthy of the golden prime

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

Thence thro' the garden I was drawn --

A realm of pleasance, many a mound,

And many a shadow-chequer'd lawn

Full of the city's stilly sound,

And deep myrrh-thickets blowing round

The stately cedar, tamarisks,

Thick rosaries of scented thorn,

Tall orient shrubs, and obelisks

Graven with emblems of the time,

In honour of the golden prime

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

With dazed vision unawares

From the long alley's latticed shade

Emerged, I came upon the great

Pavilion of the Caliphat.

Right to the carven cedarn doors,

Flung inward over spangled floors,

Broad-based flights of marble stairs

Ran up with golden balustrade,

After the fashion of the time,

And humour of the golden prime

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

The fourscore windows all alight

As with the quintessence of flame,

A million tapers flaring bright

From twisted silvers look'd to shame

The hollow-vaulted dark, and stream'd

Upon the mooned domes aloof

In inmost Bagdat, till there seem'd

Hundreds of crescents on the roof

Of night new-risen, that marvellous time

To celebrate the golden prime

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

Then stole I up, and trancedly

Gazed on the Persian girl alone,

Serene with argent-lidded eyes

Amorous, and lashes like to rays

Of darkness, and a brow of pearl

Tressed with redolent ebony,

In many a dark delicious curl,

Flowing beneath her rose-hued zone;

The sweetest lady of the time,

Well worthy of the golden prime

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

Six columns, three on either side,

Pure silver, underpropt a rich

Throne of the massive ore, from which

Down-droop'd, in many a floating fold,

Engarlanded and diaper'd

With inwrought flowers, a cloth of gold.

Thereon, his deep eye laughter-stirr'd

With merriment of kingly pride,

Sole star of all that place and time,

I saw him -- in his golden prime,

Of good Haroun Alraschid.

Sinbad on Sky 1

2011-02-26T15:16:00.000-08:00

British television channel Sky 1 has begun production for a 13 part series based on Sinbad the Sailor.

A mix of 24 and Lost featuring Sinbad adventures? Sounds like a recipe for something I guess. I wonder who will hit the screen as Sinbad first, The Rock (in the upcoming 3D Arabian Nights)? Or the as yet unchosen Sky1 version?

Here are a slew of related articles and clips:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/aug/03/sinbad-the-sailor-sky1

"Sky1 is has commissioned a multimillion-pound remake of Sinbad the Sailor, to be produced by Primeval makers Impossible Pictures, which it promises will have "the ambition of Lost and the pace of 24".

The commission is one of a slate of new shows unveiled today by the Sky1 director of programmes, Stuart Murphy, who is keen to shed a reputation for relying on foreign imports and "shifting the budget around to put terrestrial levels of spend behind our commissioned shows". Sinbad, which will start photography in Malta in February, is a 13-part series that features a 21-year-old Sinbad fleeing from his home in Basra, Iraq."

--------------------

From Sky1's initial announcement:

" Breaking news (Tuesday 3 August, 2010):

Today we are announcing a brand new 13 part hour long series called Sinbad. It's from the Emmy® and BAFTA® winning Impossible Pictures (Primeval). The new production promises a 21st century take on the classic 8th century iconic hero, Sinbad, reinvigorating the hero’s adventures for a contemporary audience.

On the run from his home town of Basra and under a curse for a killing that led to the death of his much-loved brother, the streetwise Sinbad finds himself cast out to sea. Surviving a violent and magical storm, both Sinbad and his intriguing fellow ship-mates are forced to band together to face their inner demons, hopes, loves and fears. Our flawed hero embarks on an epic and emotional quest to rid himself of the curse and embrace his destiny. When mystical meets muscle anything can happen.

Elaine Pyke, Head of Drama at Sky 1 HD commented: “Our Sinbad is 21, reckless, utterly charming and cursed. Mysticism, magic, monsters and high octane action adventure, this Sinbad is always exciting and sometimes challenging. This unique series will have the ambition of Lost, the pace of 24 and take the viewer to visually stunning locations on both sea and land. Sky’s Sinbad will be a multi-layered series for today’s prime time audience.”

Sinbad is part of Sky1's multi-million pound HD drama investment fund. The search is now on to find an actor to play the iconic role!"

http://sky1.sky.com/brand-new-sky1-hd-show-sinbad-announced-today

----------------------------------------

from Impossible Pictures:

http://impossiblepictures.co.uk/sinbad-for-the-21st-century/

SINBAD. Hero or Villain? On the run from his home town of Basra and under a curse for a killing that led to the death of his much-loved brother, the streetwise SINBAD finds himself cast out to sea. Surviving a violent and magical storm, both SINBAD and his intriguing fellow ship-mates are forced to band together to face their inner demons, hopes, loves and fears. Our flawed hero embarks on an epic and emotional quest to rid himself of the curse and embrace his destiny. When mystical meets muscle anything can happen….

------------------------------------

Times of Malta (Malta is the location of the shooting):

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100805/local/sinbad-to-be-shot-here-for-sky1

"Sinbad will be shot in Malta for Sky1 next year, marking the first time an entire series of a television production is being filmed on the island.

Usually, only individual episodes, or parts of them, are filmed here, Malta Film Commissioner Luisa Bonello pointed out.

The series is being produced by Impossible Pictures, a multi-award-winning independent television production company for Sky1 and BBC Worldwide."

-----------------------------------

From The National, Abu Dhabi (scouts are looking for Middle Eastern actors for the show)

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/sinbad-hopefuls-reach-for-the-sky

"DUBAI // Dozens of Emiratis and expatriates are vying for the lead role in a 13-part television series about Sinbad the Sailor for the British channel, Sky1.

Their self-taped video auditions as the Basra-born seafarer form part of a worldwide casting call that ends this week. The producers are looking for actors who look "Middle Eastern/Arabic", are 21 years old and fit.

"There's a good chance" someone from the region will be picked because he has to look the part, said Gemma Sykes, a casting associate with Hubbard. "Ideally we want someone who looks like they're from Basra and has that sort of sensibility.""

J. Del Pozo - Eau De Parfum - Arabian Nights

2011-02-22T16:18:00.000-08:00

For those of you who not only want to read the Nights but want to smell like them, here is a cologne from J. Del Pozo called Arabian Nights.

From 1001 Nights

Website: http://www.alhawaj.com/cms/showpage.aspx?page_id=441

Quotes from the website:

"The Name
Inspired by the legends book “1001 Nights”.
The warmth of the desert sunset.
The mystery of the nights.
The name transports us to the legendry world of the nights in Arabia."

"Arabian Nights Man
A man with power, pride, passion and sensitivity to beauty
A man in search for uniqueness.
A man of all times and ages."

(available in the Middle East and part of Spain)

Aladdin's Hookah Lounge - San Diego

2011-02-21T11:55:00.000-08:00

I'm sure there are a million restaurants and hookah lounges around the world named Ali Baba and Aladdin. Here's one in my hometown I happened to be walking past yesterday, send me pictures from yours and I'll be happy to post them!

From 1001 Nights

arabian nights in new jersey

2011-02-20T13:06:00.000-08:00

This Feb 25-27 the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra is hosting an event they call Arabian Nights featuring performances of Nielsen's Aladdin Suite, Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, and Behzad Ranjbaran's Seemorgh.

From their website: http://www.njsymphony.org/10_11calendar/February.htm#nights

"ARABIAN NIGHTS
Nights of adventure and intrigue await as Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade and Nielsen’s Aladdin Suite weave a spell with vivid orchestral color. Ranjbaran’s exciting music, based on an 11th-century Persian epic poem, fuses ancient and modern sounds."

Here's a commercial for the event, interesting to note that the conductor says "Arabian Nights is such an enchanting phrase, one that captures Persian stories and exotic music."

Mr Magoo in 1001 Arabian Nights

2011-02-19T11:23:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of pictures relating to the film 1001 Arabian Nights starring Mr. Magoo, including the cover of the film's soundtrack, recently spotted for sale on ebay.

From 1001 Nights

Ethel Johnston Phelps - The Maid of the North

2011-02-17T12:56:00.000-08:00

I came across a mention of The Maid of the North, a book which is a collection of retouched fairy and folktales by author Ethel Johnston Phelps.

The last chapter retells the basic frame story of Scheherazade and offers Phelps' feminist take on the story.

Some selected clips:

"So Scheherazade began a story. She told it so skillfully that the Sultan became absorbed in the story in spite of himself. Then, as the night grew late, she broke off at the most exciting part of the tale. Yawning, she said, “I am too sleepy to remember what happens next. But I will think of it tomorrow and finish the tale tomorrow if Your Highness wishes.”"

(169-170)

"Rather than force Scheherazade to change her admirable character, I would suggest another ending. Freed at this point by the Sultan’s death (for I loyally believe Scheherazade could have produced another thousand tales if necessary), acclaimed by the grateful citizens of Samarkand, she did what any clever storyteller would do: Using her earlier education provided by the best tutors, she of course wrote down for posterity a more polished version of her one thousand and one tales."

(173)

Phelps, Ethel Johnston. The Maid of the North: Feminist Folk Tales From Around The World. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1981.

Anushka Ravishankar - The Storyteller: Tales from the Arabian Nights

2011-02-07T22:19:00.000-08:00

Another new Nights translation has been published, this time from Indian children's literature author Anushka Ravishankar.

The Hindu newspaper writes a review (excerpt below): http://www.thehindu.com/arts/books/article1164716.ece

Through the sands of time

CHITHIRA VIJAYKUMAR

"As it turns out, Cinderella was Persian. So if you would permit us to change one of the most enduring images of your childhood, she wasn't blue-eyed, and she wasn't blonde.

Anushka Ravishankar should know. At the launch of her latest book The Storyteller: Tales from the Arabian Nights, she tells us how she almost spent a thousand and one sleepless nights wondering how to reinvent the stories, while staying true to the original. “Because they've been told, retold, televised, and made into films,” she said. “But like they say, if you can't make it your own, then don't attempt it.” And it was while reading through many versions of “The Nights” that she came across a Yasmene, her two step-sisters, and a prince determined to marry a woman who can wear a particularly petite silver anklet.

The framing story of “The Nights” is the one of the clever Scherazade, who offers to marry King Schariar, a man who, once hurt in love, has decided that all women are the same, and now has his brides executed each morning. On the night of their marriage, Scherazade begins a story, and stops at a crucial moment. The king, eager to know the ending, postpones her execution by a day. And so it goes, for 1,001 nights.

“Those were sexist, racist times; and these are violent stories. There is plenty of derogatory language, and appalling references to slaves. There are people being sizzled in boiling oil, stabbed and beheaded — not the kind of thing you would want in a children's book,” she smiles, explaining that she had to be very careful with what she included. “We like to think that those were more regressive times than now, but that need not be necessarily true. For instance, I found many educated, independent women in these stories, which surprised me.”

When she began writing, she tried to use unusual stories from “The Night” — we've all heard of Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sinbad. “But as I read, I realised that these were indeed the best stories, which is why they've been retold so many times.”"

Call for Papers - MLA 2012

2011-02-05T14:31:00.000-08:00

Call for Papers at the 2012 MLA Convention in Seattle

Manuscripts & Sources of The 1001 Nights

Unconfirmed special session proposal on the sources or manuscripts of The 1001 Nights. Papers examining, in detail, one specific version of the Nights will be especially considered.

Abstracts by 11 March 2011; Michael Lundell (lundell@gmail.com).

Please pass along to anyone who might be interested!

Ali Baba - Arabic Cartoon - علي بابا والاربعون حرامي

2011-02-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

Here is an Arabic version of Ali Baba & the 40 Thieves.

From: Heykayat 3almyih حكايات عالمية ~ علي بابا والاربعون حرامي

Ali Baba Twist

2011-01-31T22:38:00.000-08:00

"Ali Baba Twist" is a song from the 1960s by Bob Azzam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Azzam).

From 1001 Nights

Pretty catchy after a few listens....

From 1001 Nights

and the remake by the band "The Orientals" (with a Nights-esque storefront in the video):

Galland Monument - Rollot France

2011-01-30T10:32:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to Paul for passing on this picture of the Antoine Galland monument in Rollot, France, Galland's birthplace.

There is no attribution to the picture. It is used on the French website for Rollot, but also without attribution. If someone knows or finds out please let me know.

From 1001 Nights

"This is not your Disney's Aladdin."

2011-01-20T08:17:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Paul for passing along this article on the upcoming stage production of the Nights at the Toronto arts festival "Luminato" this summer.

The article outlines the project, spearheaded by UK based director Tim Supple, which presents a cast of 25 culled from Supple's travels throughout the Middle East. The play promises "adult" versions of the Nights.

Here's the link to the article in its entirety, a clip has been pasted below: http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/This+Disney+Aladdin/4123245/story.html

Here's the Luminato website: http://www.luminato.com/

"We're talking about a work that has been multiply abused and misunderstood, adapted and changed to become the thing that we think of as The Arabian Nights," said Tim Supple, the British director who has been commissioned to bring the story to the stage. He joined Price on Monday to unveil Luminato's 2011 theatre and dance program.

"The true thing is something completely different. ... [The stories] are far more brutal, erotic, frank and adult. Somehow in their history they became flipped into versions that were child-friendly."

Supple, the artistic director of the London-based company Dash Arts, is working with Lebanese novelist Hanan al-Shaykh to adapt the text. The main story begins with King Shahryar. Burned by an unfaithful wife, he marries a virgin every night and kills her in the morning. His newest queen, Shahrazad, delays her execution by telling the king incredible tales that never end.

Since the spring of 2009, Supple has travelled to Arabicspeaking countries including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Yemen to work with performers.

"We'd work for four, five, six hours at a time with groups of performers, actors, dancers and musicians to deeply understand who they are as artists and so they could understand who I am and trust me," he said.

Supple met hundreds of artists but chose a cast of 25. The production will be performed in two parts in English, Arabic and French with subtitles."

Gulf Life - Sept 2009

2011-01-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

Gulf Life is Gulf Air's in-flight magazine and it's a very stylish and well put together affair. Most of the articles are written in both Arabic and English which makes it a great way to practice your Arabic reading alongside the English translation.

Their September 2009 edition has several Nights related articles including some info on Tahir Shah's book, some background of the Nights, an article on the giant hakawati statue they are planning on building in Dubai (a giant human shape which tells stories (ala the Nights) through microphones in the park), an article on Tim Supple - a dramatist who is currently travelling through the Middle East in order to collect and, at the end of his journey, present on stage in the UK, a Nights spectacle, and a great article on my favorite storyteller Abu Shady, who sits atop his storytelling chair in the An-Nowfara cafe in the old city of Damascus each night and tells stories, several from and related to the Nights.

In any event, Gulf Life has its magazine free and online, so check out the Nights edition (and their other magazines if you like):

http://www.ink-live.com/emagazines/gulf-life/2009/sep/

The Galland Manuscript

2010-12-29T23:02:00.000-08:00

The Galland Manuscript

This image is allegedly of the Galland manuscript from the wikipedia page for the Nights. There is no attribution though so who knows. It's the most often used image online of the manuscript though.

The often-called “Galland manuscript” is an Arabic language manuscript of the Nights in the Bibliotheque nationale in Paris France. Its call numbers at the library are MSS arabes 3609, 3610 and 3611. It is the oldest manuscript of the Nights in any language that contains any stories and people have dated it to somewhere around the 15th century AD. This date is disputed however and some think it is written earlier in the 14th century.

It’s not clear who the author or scribe is (yet! maybe you can find out) or exactly where or when or how this manuscript came into being (besides allegedly being sent from Syria to Galland in 1701).

There are three volumes.

There are 282 “nights” and around 35 stories.

I've never read about a certain title on this manuscript nor are the stories individually titled (can someone verify or refute this?) yet they are segmented into numbered “nights.” On the picture above however each section clearly says "Alf Layla wa Layla" in Arabic.

These volumes were in Antoine Galland’s personal library and he appeared to use them as the primary (but far from only) source for the beginning volumes of his French translation of the Nights which were titled Mille et une Nuits (1704-1717). (Thanks to JC for the dates of publication).

Galland received the Arabic manuscript volumes in 1701 while in France. Colleagues sent them from Syria.

Galland had requested that his colleagues look for the complete or original Nights in the Middle East after he translated a stand-alone version of “Sindbad” (aka “Sinbad the Sailor and Sinbad the Porter” or several other related sounding/spelled titles) from Arabic into French that someone told him was a part of a larger body of work (the Nights).

The last story is known generally (though has several different spelling and other title variants) as “The Tale of Qamar al-Zaman and Budur” and does not have an ending.

In 1984 Muhsin Mahdi, a professor at Harvard, published an edited and collated version of this Arabic manuscript (along with a completed version of “Qamar al-Zaman”) in which he attempts to portray the oldest and most authentic Nights as anyone knew them. His out of print three volume set from Brill consists of the manuscript, several essays in English, several indexes in Arabic including an intensive comparative index and a descriptive chapter of old manuscripts of the Nights and an introduction in Arabic of his theories regarding the various origins of the Nights. This set is expensive when found but many major university libraries have a copy or have access to one.

In 1990 WW Norton published an English translation by Husain Haddawy of Mahdi’s recension titled The Arabian Nights consisting only of these oldest stories.

In 2004 Claudia Ott translated this manuscript (though I’m not sure if she did it using Mahdi’s edition or the actual Galland manuscript in Paris) into German. It was published in Europe under the title Tausendundeine Nacht.

Feel free to add related bibliographic info and or other info or corrections in the comments section (or just email me too). I’ve put only English and one Arabic resource below but I’m certain there are many more I’ve missed in all languages.

Bibliography Specific to the Galland Manuscript:

English

Wollamshram's Blog Post on the breakdown of the volumes and contents of Galland's Nights:

http://wollamshram.wordpress.com/2011/01/01/galland%E2%80%99s-mille-et-une-nuit/

See also the relevant sections from the following books:

The Arabian Nights Handbook by Robert Irwin

Eastern Dreams by Paul McMichael Nurse

And the entries “Manuscripts,” “Galland, Antoine,” and “Sindbad the Seaman” in The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia (volumes one and two) edited by Ulrich Marzolph and Richard van Leeuwen.

Reynolds, Dwight F. "A Thousand and One Nights: a history of the text and its reception." Arabic Literature in the Post-Classical Period. Eds. Roger Allen and D. S. Richards. Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Grotzfeld, Heinz. “The Age of the Galland Manuscript of the Nights: Numismatic Evidence for Dating a Manuscript.” Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies I: 50-64. 1996-7.

And the following oldies but goodies from Duncan MacDonald:

“The Story of the Fisherman and the Jinni: Transcribed from Galland’s MS of ‘The Thousand and One Nights.’” Orientalische Studien: Th. Noldeke zum 70. Geburtstag gewidmet, ed. by Carl Bezold. Giessen: Toepelmann, 357-383. 1906.

“Lost Manuscripts of the ‘Arabian Nights’ and a Projected Edition of that of Galland.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society: 219-221.

“A Preliminary Classification of Some Mss. of the Arabian Nights.” A Volume of Oriental Studies: Presented to Edward G. Browne on his 60th Birthday. Eds. Thomas W. Arnold and Reynold A. Nicholson. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 304-321. 1922.

“The Earlier History of the Arabian Nights.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 353-397.

“A Bibliographical and Literary Study of the First Appearance of the Arabian Nights in Europe.” Library Quarterly 2: 387-420. 1932.

In Arabic Muhsin Mahdi has a collection of manuscript descriptions including the Galland manuscript in volume II of The Thousand and One Nights from the Earliest Known Sources. Leiden: Brill. 1984.

The Arabian Nights by Wafa Tarnowska

2010-12-25T11:23:00.000-08:00

picture from Barefoot Books website linked below

Barefoot Books has recently (Oct) released yet another new version of the Nights. This one comes to us from author Wafa Tarnowska and is geared toward children. I read a review on Amazon that the author translated from an "original" 14th century manuscript. Unless the author has a secret manuscript though I doubt this is the case as the oldest manuscript has been dated to the 1500s. In addition she puts "Aladdin" in her version and as you know the story's first appearance was in French in the early 1700s.

It would be interesting to see how this book revisions the Nights for children.

There is a pdf interview on the publisher's website but it's really vague and general along the lines of "the stories in the Nights have adventures" and "my grandmother used to tell me stories from the Nights" and "the Nights are related to today because of the Middle East."

Here's the website: http://store.barefootbooks.com/the-arabian-nights.html

Merry Xmas!

Review of The Islamic Context of The Thousand and One Nights

2010-12-11T09:13:00.000-08:00

The Journal of Folklore Research has a new book review up on Muhsin J. al-Musawi's 2009 book The Islamic Context of The Thousand and One Nights.

The review is vast and lengthy and is written by Hasan El-Shamy, Professor at Indiana University and author of the 2006 book A Motif Index of The Thousand and One Nights, a specialized academic resource of tale types found in the Nights.

I haven't read the entirety of al-Musawi's book but I have it at home from the library. It seems to be one of the few lengthy treatments of the topic (Islam & the Nights) though it also suffers, I think, from some of the generalizations of most Nights scholarship (ie does not necessarily treat individual variants of the Nights as idiosyncratic pieces of a much larger and looser literature instead relying on the Nights in a very broad sense).

El-Shamy's review can be read in its entirety here: http://www.indiana.edu/~jofr/review.php?id=975

Here is an excerpt:

"The chapters are logically arranged to present a sequence of historical and sociocultural developments as depicted in or inferred from the Nights as literature rather than folklore, written or oral. Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 7 address the Islamic Factor: in "Global Times" (25), as "the Unifying [...] Factor" (52), its role in "the Age of Muslim Empire and the Burgeoning of a Text" (106), and in "Scheherazade's Nonverbal Narratives in Religious Contexts" (250), respectively. In this context, "Global Times" signifies fraternity beyond ethnic and similar social distinctions (21). Meanwhile, chapter 5 discusses "Nonreligious Displacements in Popular Tradition," emphasizing the dichotomous patterning between the court and street or the rich and the poor (197), and between the secular and the religious (214, 231, cf. 224 where the fantastic partakes of the religious). Two chapters (4 and 6) are dedicated to the influence the population exerted on the formation of this narrative anthology; they bear the titles "the Role of the Public in The Thousand and One Nights," where the "readers" and their preferences are discussed (145), and "The Public Role in Islamic Narrative Theorizations" (228), respectively. Al-Musawi labels this cultural phenomenon associated with a readership the "urban mind," and points out that it distinguished Baghdad from the eighth to twelfth centuries C.E., and Mamluk Cairo later (6, 8, 22).

It is that "urban mind" and its desire to read 'asmâr (nightly entertainments) and hikâyât (tales) that motivated the movement among some elite to gather and re-write oral traditional folktales that came to be attributed to Sheherazade's oral tale-telling skills. Al-Musawi explains: "The effort to address a reading public is central to the [narrative] art, however, for it manifests both the damage done to the oral tradition... and the desire among some of the literati to dig into the marginalized culture or to refine it through acceptable embeddings and translated framing narratives" (230-231)."

Aladdin (film) Bibliography

2010-12-07T18:33:00.000-08:00

UC Berkeley's Library has a great list of resources and bibliographic information on representations of race in other works, especially film at their website here:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/FilmBibMenu.html

Part of their list is on the Disney film Aladdin and most of the material in their bibliography is (like most all info written on the film) focused on the "representation of Arabs" in the film.

I've pasted their bibliography below though if you go through the UCB website (http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/disney.html#aladdin) you'll have direct access to many of the articles for free if you are online via your local university's library website and even more if you are a UC user. I've also deleted their annotations on this list to avoid plagiarizing and I'll be adding more to the list as there are several articles not listed on their website and articles not dealing with Orientalism that should be on this list. So! If you are studying the film Aladdin come here and go there! Recheck citations too for any papers you use these in.

Addison, Erin. "Saving Other Women from Other Men: Disney's Aladdin." Camera Obscura: A Journal of Feminism, Culture, and Media Studies, vol. 31. 1993 Jan-May. pp: 5-25.

"'Aladdin' Bows to a Protest." New York Times v142, sec1 (Sun, July 11, 1993):9(N), 16(L), col 4, 8 col in.

"'Aladdin' Song Lyrics Altered." Facts on File v53, n2747 (July 22, 1993):552.

Anwar, Farrah. "Aladdin." Sight and Sound Dec 1993 v3 n12 p38(2).

Bannon, Lisa. "How a Rumor Spread About Subliminal Sex in Disney's 'Aladdin"', The Wall Street Journal, l0/24/95.

Britt, Donna. "2 Films Spin Their Own Special Magic.” Washington Post v115 (Fri, Nov 13, 1992):D1, col 1, 18 col in.

Cooperson, Michael. “The Monstrous Births of Aladdin.” The Arabian Nights Reader. Ulrich Marzolph, ed. Detroit: Wayne State UP, 2006: 265-282.

Corliss, Richard. "Aladdin's Magic." Time v140, n19 (Nov 9, 1992):74 (3 pages).

Corrigan, Don. "Aladdin - Like Much of U.S. Entertainment and Media - is Flawed by Stereotypes." St. Louis Journalism Review v22, n153 (Feb, 1993):13 (2 pages).

Felperin Sharman, Leslie. "New Aladdins for Old." Sight & Sound ( III/11, Nov 93; p.12-15).

Felperin, Leslie. "The Thief of Buena Vista: Disney's Aladdin and Orientalism." A reader in animation studies / edited by Jayne Pilling. London : J. Libbey, c1997.

Fox, David J. "Disney Will Alter Song in 'Aladdin.'" Los Angeles Times v112 (Sat, July 10, 1993):F1, col 5, 17 col in.

Geist, Kenneth. "Aladdin." Films in Review March-April 1993 v44 n3-4 p127(2)

Gorchev, Leila. "When Will it be Okay to be an Arab?" Washington Post v116 (Sun, Dec 27, 1992):C7, col 2, 16 col in.

Irwin, Robert. "Aladdin." TLS. Times Literary Supplement Dec 24, 1993 n4734 p14(2)

"It's Racist, But Hey, It's Disney." New York Times v142 (Wed, July 14, 1993):A14(N), A18(L), col 1, 6 col in.

Klawans, Stuart. "Aladdin." The Nation Dec 7, 1992 v255 n19 p713(4).

Kraidy, M.M. "Intertextual Maneuvers around the Subaltern: Aladdin as a Postmodern Text," in C. Degli-Esposti (ed.) Postmodernism in the Cinema, pp. 44-59. New York: Berghahn Books, 1998.

Kreck, Dick. "Is 'Aladdin' More Than Meets Ear?" The Denver Post, 4 June 1994.

Macleod, Dianne Sachko. "The Politics of Vision: Disney, Aladdin, and the Gulf War." The Emperor's old groove: decolonizing Disney's Magic Kingdom / edited by Brenda Ayres. pp: 179-91. New York: P. Lang, 2003.

Maslin, Janet. "Aladdin." The New York Times Nov 11, 1992 v142.

Phillips, Jerry. "Telling Tales to Children: The Pedagogy of Empire in MGM's Kim and Disney's Aladdin." The Lion and the Unicorn: A Critical Journal of Children's Literature vol. 20 no. 1. 1996 June. pp: 66-89.

Nadel Alan. "A whole new (Disney) world order: Aladdin, atomic power, and the Muslim Middle East." Visions of the East: orientalism in film / edited by Matthew Bernstein and Gaylyn Studlar. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, c1997.

Phillips, Jerry and Ian Wojcik-Andrews. "Telling Tales to Children: The Pedagogy of Empire in MGM's Kim and Disney's Aladdin." The Lion and the Unicorn 20.1 (1996) 66-89.

Rossmiller, David. "Get Naked? Aladdin Allegedly Makes Crude Remark."The Phoenix Gazette, 12 March 1994.

Scheinin, Richard. "Angry Over 'Aladdin." Washington Post v116 (Sun, Jan 10, 1993):G1, col 1, 36 col in.

Shaheen, Jack. "Aladdin: Animated Racism." Cineaste, vol. 20 no. 1. 1993. pp: 49.

Scheinin, Richard. "In Its New "Family Film," Disney Clobbers Arabs-Again!" The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. May 2004. Vol. 23, Iss. 4; p. 66.

Schmidt, Carolyn Speer. "Not just Disney : destructive stereotypes of Arabs in children's literature." Arabs in the Americas : interdisciplinary essays on the Arab diaspora / edited by Darcy A. Zabel. New York : Peter Lang, c2006.

Sharman, Leslie Felperin. "New Aladdins for Old." Sight and Sound v3, n11 (Nov, 1993):12 (4 pages).

Simon, John. "Aladdin." National Review Dec 14, 1992 v44 n24 p53(2)

Staninger, Christiane. "Disney's Magic Carpet Ride: Aladdin and Women in Islam." The emperor's old groove: decolonizing Disney's Magic Kingdom / edited by Brenda Ayres. pp: 65-77. New York: P. Lang, c2003.

White, Timothy R. and J. E. Winn. "Islam, Animation and Money: The Reception of Disney's Aladdin in Southeast Asia." Kinema, Spring 1995.

Wise, Christopher. "Notes from the Aladdin Industry: Or, Middle Eastern Folklore in the Era of Multinational Capitalism." The emperor's old groove: decolonizing Disney's Magic Kingdom / edited by Brenda Ayres. pp: 105-14 New York: P. Lang, c2003.

Master Bibliography

2010-12-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

This page will be the page where all bibliographic lists will be linked. I'm a bit wary of making categories because there is just so much written on the Nights that an article or book would be able to fit in several but I'll try and make the categories as loose as possible, with annotations below.

Beginner's Bibliography
http://journalofthenights.blogspot.com/2009/06/beginners-bibliography.html
This is less of a strict bibliography and more of a "starting point" list I made for books and articles I would recommend to anyone beginning to study the Nights (or even those of you at an advanced-Nights level).

Aladdin (film) Bibliography
http://journalofthenights.blogspot.com/2010/12/aladdin-film-bibliography.html
A list of articles and books on the Disney film Aladdin.

1001 Nights of Pleasure (1972)

2010-12-04T10:46:00.000-08:00

From 1001 Nights

This is an Italian film I haven't seen yet (a French poster for it) with (according to the fun review posted below) has little to do with the Nights (though it has an interesting take on the frame story to be sure), is not that overtly erotic (yet is marketed as being so) and does not feature prominently, as promised, the film star Barbara Bouchet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Bouchet). What can you do. Perfect variant of the Nights?

Here's a snippet of the review:

"1001 Nights of Pleasure aka (Finalmente... le mille e una notte or Les mille et une nuits érotiques) is a film that not only advertises Barbara Bouchett as the lead star on posters and DVD covers but also gives her top billing in the opening credits; shockingly she doesn't make an appearance until about 3/4th's of the way through. To describe this film quickly and bluntly it's simply pure sleaze, an Italian sex comedy with a lot of implied sex and not a whole lot of comedy, at least nothing I found very amusing. The basic plot of the film is an Arabia sultan receives a new beautiful slave (played by the second and only other good looking woman in the film Femi Benussi) only to discover he's got a serious case of erectile dysfunction (wonder how many Google hits I'll get off of that!?!). In an attempt to regain the use of his manhood he issues a proclamation for people in the city to tell him an erotic story, if they fail to arouse him they will be beheaded."

and the review:http://www.commonsensemoviereviews.com/2010/11/1001-nights-of-pleasure-1972.html

and the film on imdb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068589/

Eastern Dreams review in thestar.com

2010-12-03T23:13:00.000-08:00

Here is an excerpt from a recent review of Paul Nurse's Eastern Dreams in The Toronto Star newspaper and website. It's an ok review, some critique of the academic nature of the language but overall a positive one. A link to the review follows the snippet and the artwork is linked from the Star as well.

Published On Fri Nov 26 2010

Susan Goldenberg

"Among the interesting points:

• Why is a book with nowhere near 1,001 stories (less than a third, actually) widely known as The Thousand and One Nights? Nurse explains that in ancient Arabic society, 1,000 “denoted the highest number attainable.” Thus, 1,000 denoted infinity or a never-ending story. As for why 1,001, Muslims considered odd numbers “to be intrinsically worthier” than even figures. “From the classical Muslim perspective, Scheherazade, to make her stories worthy, to imbue them with luck, required an extra night,” Nurse writes.

• The world’s most famous Arabic storybook, Nurse points out, is actually “a compendium of tales culled from India, Persia, Arabia, Ottoman Turkey and Egypt, probably infused as well with stories from Hebrew, Greek and Roman sources.” For example: The striking similarity between Sinbad’s fight with a carnivorous, one-eyed giant and Odysseus’s battle with the Cyclops Polyphemus in The Odyssey.

• The popular stories of Sinbad, Aladdin and Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves were not part of the original but picked up from various Arabic sources by Frenchman Antoine Galland, “the man who brought Nights to the West” with his translations in the early 1700s. Galland is responsible for the often used shorthand title Arabian Nights because, as a shrewd marketer, he capitalized on the West’s fascination with the “East,” particularly Arabia.

• Nights influenced Western literary greats Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Dickens. In “The Christmas Tree,” Dickens enthused about the impact on children: “All common things become uncommon and enchanted. All lamps are wonderful; all rings are talismans.” Edgar Allan Poe concocted “The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade,” in which she tells her husband about a land resembling the 19th-century Western world. He goes along with her talking about such inventions as the telegraph and steam power, but is enraged when she describes a woman’s bustle. Regarding it as beyond acceptable boundaries, he orders her execution after all.

• There are marked similarities between Nights’ Sinbad and Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.

• The Arab world is ambivalent about Nights because of its often violent and sexual content, feeling that it gives a bad impression. Still, Nights is popular reading among the inmates at Guantanamo along with another set of fanciful books, Harry Potter.

Susan Goldenberg is a Toronto author and freelance writer."

link to article: http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/897590--eastern-dreams-how-the-arabian-nights-came-to-the-world

Great World Texts in Wisconsin - The Arabian Nights

2010-11-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

I posted a bit before about this great yearlong teaching program that the Center for the Humanites at the University of Wisconsin is having on the Nights.

They are conducting a "1 book" teaching program throughout the state in both high schools and colleges focusing on the Nights that culminates with a final conference in which the participants share their experiences teaching the Nights.

They have recently updated their website with all kinds of great things like teaching ideas, an extensive sample curriculum and several Internet resources (including, and it's an honor, this humble blog!).

Check it out!: http://humanities.wisc.edu/programs/great-texts/arabian-nights/About.html

McLoughlin's Aladdin

2010-11-11T10:10:00.000-08:00

1001 Thanks to JC for passing on some great scans from McLoughlin's Aladdin book series that I mentioned in this post: http://journalofthenights.blogspot.com/2010/10/aladdins-lamp.html

From 1001 Nights

Annenberg Media's The Thousand and One Nights

2010-11-09T14:55:00.000-08:00

Annenberg Media and Learner.org have this extensive series of television shows introducing several great works of world literature, including The 1001 Nights. Many of them have aired on PBS stations throughout the country.

I was interviewed for the show at length but alas there is no mention of it or the blog on their website or show. That's show business I guess!

Their show is a decent, if a bit general, introduction to the Nights by several Nights related scholars and artists and you can watch it in its entirety at their website, which also has several good sections on teaching the Nights.

Here is their website: http://www.learner.org/courses/worldlit/the-thousand-and-one-nights/watch/

The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

2010-11-08T10:43:00.000-08:00

Here is the Alexander Korda produced film from 1940 The Thief of Bagdad on youtube (in its entirety with a short ad beforehand).

Ali Baba - Andy Kohlmann

2010-11-05T09:09:00.001-07:00

Here is the song "Ali Baba" by electronic musician/dj Andy Kohlmann (http://www.myspace.com/andykohlmann).

The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

2010-11-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

Some pictures, posters and related items I found listed for sale on ebay from the 1940 Alexander Korda produced The Thief of Bagdad (1940).

From 1001 Nights

In Bad With Sinbad

2010-11-02T16:32:00.000-07:00

"In Bad With Sinbad" - by Frank Dailey & his Stop & Go Orchestra (1930s).

This is a great big band era song that I don't know too much about, if anyone can add any info about the song or the band please do in the comments section. The song might be related to the book by the same name by Arthur Stringer though again I'm not sure at the moment!

some more info on Frank Dailey:

http://www.parabrisas.com/d_daileyf.php

Eastern Dreams by Paul Nurse, review

2010-10-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

My review of Paul Nurse's Eastern Dreams: How the Arabian Nights Came to the World (2010) published by Penguin/Viking Canada is now online at the Journal of Folklore Research.

You can read the review here: http://www.indiana.edu/~jofr/review.php?id=545

Paul Nurse's book has been out for several months now but is limited in its release to primarily Canada, which, given the book's scope and applicability, is too bad. Perhaps future editions will be given a wider distribution. You can, however, buy it from Amazon Canada with your Amazon user ID from the US or anywhere (http://www.amazon.ca/Eastern-Dreams-Paul-Nurse/dp/0670063606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288216198&sr=8-1).

Arabian Adventure

2010-10-21T17:52:00.000-07:00

My award for creepiest film genie goes to Milton Reid (see his bio: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0717374/bio) who was also involved in an Aladdin film and an adult film version of the Nights as well as a couple of James Bond movies.

You can witness his genie in the cursorily Nights related 1979 film Arabian Adventure (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_Adventure), which, like most Nights films has little to do with the Nights but features flying carpets, a genie, an evil wazir and other assorted Hollywood Orientalismos.

The movie, by the way, features a big name cast: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Mickey Rooney and John Ratzenberger (Cliff!), among many others, and is directed by Kevin Connor, director of one of my favorite 80s horror flicks Motel Hell.

Here's the genie clip from youtube:

Pasolini's Il Fiore Online

2010-10-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

For those of you with access to Netflix (http://www.netflix.com) the online dvd rental company now has a streaming version of Pasolini's 1974 movie Il Fiore Delle Mille e Una Notte (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_Nights_%281974_film%29).

The film on netflix is in Italian with English subtitles. It is a fairly rare, out of print film and rated NC-17 though the sexuality is not over the top. The movie does, however, have lots of naked people!

I'm not sure how netflix works with non-USA users (can you buy a subscription only to watch their extensive online collection?) or if it's even possible. I know there are several "torrent" versions available but many of the torrent sites are unreliable. Google videos removed a free version I had posted a link to a long while ago.

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, The Arabian Nights

2010-10-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a great audio interview/synopsis of the history of the Nights from the BBC with Interviewer Melvyn Bragg, Robert Irwin, author of The Arabian Nights: A Companion and Professors Marina Warner and Gerard van Gelder.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0081kdb

Some text from the page:

"Melvyn Bragg discusses the myths, tales and legends of the Arabian Nights.

Once upon a time a wealthy merchant grew hot in the sun and sat down under a tree. Having eaten a date, he threw aside the stone, and immediately there appeared before him a Genie of enormous height who, holding a drawn sword in his hand, approached him, and said, “rise that I may kill thee”.

This is from The Arabian Nights, a collection of miraculous tales including Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and Sinbad the Sailor. Forged in the medieval Arab world, it became so popular in Europe that the 18th century Gothic writer Horace Walpole declared “Read Sinbad the Sailor’s Voyages and you will grow sick of Aeneas”.

Its origins are Indian and Persian but it was championed initially by an 18th century Frenchman, Antoine Galland. Celebrated for its fabulous stories, it is a patchwork of sex, violence, magic, adventure, and cruelty – a far cry from the children’s book that it has become.

With Robert Irwin, Senior Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; Marina Warner, Professor in the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies at the University of Essex; Gerard van Gelder, Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford."

Aladdin's Lamp

2010-10-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

From 1001 Nights

I came across this great picture of a book that is currently up for "adoption" by the American Antiquarian Society (http://www.americanantiquarian.org/adoptabook09.htm) where you can adopt books for preservation.

The book's information from the website:

ALADDIN'S LAMP.
Adopted by Cleota Reed

Aladdin or the wonderful lamp. (Little Delights). New York: McLoughlin Bros., [ca. 1868-1874]

This copy of Aladdin is an excellent example of McLoughlin Bros.' attractive editions of fairy tales in an economical eight-page format.
~ Laura Wasowicz

1001 Nights in Croatia

2010-10-10T01:32:00.000-07:00

Booksellers in Croatia are finding it hard to keep copies of the Arabian Nights on the shelves and several publishers are filling the gaps by producing more versions there. This run on the Nights though has little to do with the book and more to do with the Turkish Soap Opera called Binbir Gece (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binbir_Gece) even though the TV show has little to do with the story collection (has that ever stopped anyone from using the name??). Turkish Soap Operas are a craze unto their own as followers of the hit show Nour will readily tell you (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noor_%28soap_opera%29) but this current Nights-craze is a precedent. Publishers are not speaking out against the sales of the books despite the discrepancy between the show and the text however...neither are the Turkish language classes in Croatia...

More from Croatiatimes.com: http://www.croatiantimes.com/news/Panorama/2010-10-06/14232/Bookstores_riding_the_wave_of_%27Arabian_Nights-mania%27

"Bookstores riding the wave of 'Arabian Nights-mania'

Croatian Times

Turkish soap opera fans have been snapping up editions of a book with the same name as their favourite TV series, only to find it has nothing to do with the soap.

The book "One Thousand and One Nights" (or Arabian Nights) is now the country’s most sought after title with thousands flying off the shelves every day, despite it having no connection to the popular soap.

But bookstores are keeping hush about the mix up as orders mount up, with one shop even issuing a golden edition with 736 pages and 38 illustrations.

But customers seem happy saying that the soap opera which tells the story of a beautiful architect and her boss has clearly used the book for inspiration as it borrows numerous romantic quotes from the book."

more here: http://www.croatiantimes.com/news/Panorama/2010-09-30/14105/Retailers_cashing_in_on_Croatia%B4s_obsession_with_Turkish_soap

"30. 09. 10. - 17:00

Retailers cashing in on Croatia´s obsession with Turkish soap

Croatian Times

Just like the movie "Eat,Pray,Love" has popularized travel tours by the same name, the Turkish soap opera "1,001 nights" has Croatians learning Turkish and flying to Istanbul.

Retailers, tour operators and language schools are cashing in on Croatia's obsession with the romantic affair between gorgeous architect Scheherazade and her boss, Onur. The two protagonists have the nation glued to their TV sets every night of the week at 8pm.

Zagreb school of foreign languages "Sjajna zvijezda" has registered a large interest in the Turkish language. In the last week or two, 50 people signed up to learn; demand has never been so high.

"Our new clients are mainly young women below 30 who are not afraid to admit being motivated by their favourite the TV series. They come having picked up a few words from the show, like "merhaba" (good day) or "iyi geceler" (good evening)," says the school's director Jasmin Selihovic.

Merchandise produced by opportunistic retailers showing pictures of the characters has been flying off the shelves. A shirt with Scheherazade's portrait is selling for 13.5 Euros.

"In addition to the fact that they sell well, they bring a smile to everyone in the shopping center," says a sales attendant in WGW boutique.

Even publishing houses are profiting from the renewed interest in the Arabian classic "1001 nights," a collection of fairy tales and stories from which the series takes its name.

And the Kompas travel agency said that the charter flight from Split to Istanbul on 7th of October has been sold out partly thanks to the popularity of the soap.

"Even though the flight was opened earlier, the space filled up during the showing of the last few episodes of the series," said agency's director Ivan Puksar who is planning another four-day excursion to Istanbul that will include some of the shooting locations, says Croatian internet portal Dalje."

The Rock as Sinbad

2010-10-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

Casting has already begun for the upcoming 3D blockbuster based on the Nights and brought to you by several of the people who were responsible for The Mummy and its offspring.

The latest news has Dwayne Johnson (aka the wrestler known as "The Rock") set to play Sinbad. Just when the poor hapless (and largely lucky) seafarer felt like he needed more muscles Hollywood steps in to chisel them out. The more action/adventure warrior Sinbad is remade as the further his character gets away from the original sailor.

This movie is setting up to be even more bizarrely related to the stories of the Nights than the film it is purported to be based on (Maria Montez and Sabu's 1942 Technicolor Arabian Nights (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_Nights_%281942_film%29)).

Here's more about the Rock's role:

From Screenrant: (http://screenrant.com/dwayne-johnson-sinbad-arabian-nights-benm-80871/)

"Sinbad will be one of three main characters in the upcoming 3D film adaptation of Arabian Nights, directed by Chuck Russell (who previously directed Johnson in The Scorpion King). If Dwayne Johnson agrees to play the badass sailor, he’ll be joining Liam Hemsworth (brother of Thor star Chris Hemsworth) as the main protagonist and Anthony Hopkins as the evil sorcerer Pharotu, murderer of Sinbad’s mermaid girlfriend.

And they say movies aren’t realistic anymore…

The overall plot for Arabian Nights, according to Russell (via Variety), is as follows:

“[A] young commander who, after his king is killed in a palace coup, joins forces with Sinbad, Alladin, and his genie to rescue Scheherazade and her kingdom from dark powers.”

Russell goes on to say that using top of the line 3D technology he’ll be giving audiences a carpet ride like they’ve never seen before. Really, Russell? I mean, is it even possible to top Disney’s Aladdin? Highly unlikely!"

and from Worst Previews.com: http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.php?id=19175&count=0

and cinemablend: http://www.cinemablend.com/new/The-Rock-May-Play-Sinbad-In-Arabian-Nights-20897.html

J Majik - Arabian Nights

2010-09-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the 1996 Drum and Bass single Arabian Nights by J Majik (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J_Majik).

The Tomb of Sir Richard Francis Burton

2010-09-28T13:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of someone walking up to the tomb of Nights translator Richard F. Burton in Mortlake, London, England. As you can see (only briefly at the end of the video) the tomb is in the style of an Arabian tent.

Chagall's Nights Paintings sold at Auction

2010-09-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

From 1001 Nights

Thanks to JC for the scan of his book!

Many thanks to JC for passing on this Christie's auction to me. Unfortunately I took so long to post it it has ended (ended on 9/15/10). I'm pretty sure though anyone who would be willing to spend 200K UK on these paintings would have known about it already!

The auction's details are quoted below with some background on the Nights.

Info on Chagall: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Chagall

Auction info: (link: http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5348996&sid=a2c571ad-4c69-4a2b-bd1e-f4dd095dab69)

Book version history from JC: "The Chagall Four Tales from the Arabian Nights has been reproduced a couple of times. The original publication was in 1948 by Pantheon Books of New York. There were two states, a deluxe edition of 21. It was numbered I-X and lettered A-K. Each portfolio contained 13 signed lithographs along with text and line drawings. The pages were loose. The other state is the numbered and signed edition of 90 lithographs. Only 12 of the litho's were included in this set. This is the set Christie's has up of auction.

In 1988 Prestel of Munich reproduced the litho's and text. All 13 lithos are included along with the line drawings. I believe that they had previously released the book in German in 1987. In 1999 the book was released again, in a reduced size. The 1988 version is the one to have as the reproductions are larger than the later book's. "

Auction information from Christie's:

"Price Realized

£217,250
($336,738)

Lot Description

Marc Chagall
Four Tales from the Arabian Nights (Mourlot 36-48; Cramer books 18)
the complete set of 12 lithographs printed in colours, 1948, on laid paper, each signed in pencil, inscribed with the plate number and numbered 70/90 (there was also a deluxe edition of ten with an additional plate and progessive proofs of the lithographs, and 11 hors commerce-copies), published by Pantheon Books, New York, 1948, the full sheets, most with deckle edges at right, generally in very good condition, framed
L. 375 x 280 mm. (and similar), S. 430 x 330 mm.

Special Notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 17.5% on the buyer's premium.

Lot Notes

The Arabian Nights, more accurately known as One Thousand and One Nights, is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. The work as we have it was collected over many centuries by various authors, translators and scholars across the Middle East and North Africa. Though the oldest Arabic manuscript dates from the 14th century, scholars generally date the collection's genesis to around the 9th century.

The main frame story concerns a Persian king and his new bride, Scheherazade, who tells a succession of stories, night after night, in an effort to postpone the threat of execution. The tales vary widely: they include historical tales, love stories, tragedies, comedies, poems, burlesques and various forms of erotica. Numerous stories depict djinns, magicians, and legendary places, which are often intermingled with real people and geography, not always rationally. Sometimes a character in Scheherazade's tale will begin telling other characters a story of his own, and that story may have another one told within it, resulting in a richly layered narrative texture.

Marc Chagall, arguably the pre-eminent colour lithographer of his age, began his relationship with the medium in Four Tales from the Arabian Nights. As in his later illustration series, Chagall conceived the pictures as augmentations of the text, serving to arouse the interest of both the reader and the viewer. It has come to be regarded as one of his finest essays in the medium of lithography, in large part because the literary source required no change in the artist's style. Chagall found himself confronted by a text which inspired and responded to his art like no other."

Aladdin Bail Bonds

2010-09-17T09:58:00.000-07:00

Here in California there is a prominent Bail Bonds company called Aladdin. It's a fitting name I guess, like the genie they can get you out of jail?

Their parent company is called "Two Jinn Inc."!

From 1001 Nights

grad course this fall @ csu northridge

2010-09-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

Came across (thanks to Paul!) this upcoming graduate level course on the Nights at California State University Northridge taught by Dr. Charles Hatfield.

It looks like a great overview of the Nights and includes a lot of fun stuff like films and graphic novels as well as the academic stuff. The website has a lot of info and a good looking bibliography as well.

Here is the link:

http://the1001nights.wordpress.com/open-o-simsim/

restaurant city

2010-09-05T00:59:00.000-07:00

This week is Arabian Nights week on Restaurant City, the online, possibly (not sure myself) Facebook only, pseudo-virtual reality restaurant game.

It's kind of a cash game which starts as free but if you want to add as many bells and whistles as you can (for your own gratification) you can but it will cost you cash, most of the Arabian Nights gear and most of the any special week gear costs real money, though the game can also be played for 'free', (but not with the really cool add-ons available!).

Link: http://blog.restaurantcitygame.com/2010/09/01/arabian-nights/

Nadirim

2010-09-01T09:54:00.000-07:00

A new, free, online adventure game based in an Arabian Nights genre world is set to be released shortly. It's called Nadirim and seems to be like a World of Warcraft/D&D type of ongoing online adventure game though I'm not too familiar with these types of games.

You can be a certain type of 'class' of person, a warrior, nomad, caravan master, ruffian or sage.

And it looks like you have to contend with Djinn and all sorts of other vaguely Nights-related elements.

From their website: "Nadirim is a free-to-play, browser-based, massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) placed in a fantasy world inspired by the tales of the Arabian Nights. Explore Nadirim and its unique world of Arabian myths and fables to immerse yourself in an online role playing experience that has never been brought to browser platforms before! The game takes the player into the world of the Arabian Nights, a world that is fictional in geographical and historical terms but incorporates the best known elements of Arabian fables and mythology like djinns, adventurous thieves, mysterious princesses, potions, alchemy, and — of course — heroes and villains."

And their website (game in Beta): http://nadirim.com/

And their cool video:

1001 Nights Radio Show (in Arabic)

2010-08-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

The blogger Zeinobia at her great blog Egyptian Chronicles has been posting radio clips of the 1001 Nights in Arabic. During Ramadan in the Middle East it is common for family and friends to gather to watch special TV serials and radio shows and the 1001 Nights both on TV and the Radio has been a staple of the holy month for years, particularly in Egypt.

Here is the Barber of Bagdad, for more postings on her blog click the link '1001' below this post.

http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2010/08/ramadans-arabian-nights-barber-of_26.html

Pasolini's Nights

2010-08-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

A variety of movie posters from Pier Paolo Pasolini's il fiore delle mille e una notte (Its boring English title: Arabian Nights).

From 1001 Nights

HD - The Walls Do Not Fall

2010-08-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

Recently came across this subtle reference to the Nights in a poem by HD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilda_Doolittle).

The poem is called "The Walls Do Not Fall" and this is part 5:

When in the company of the gods,
I loved and was loved,

never was my mind stirred
to such rapture,

my heart moved
to such pleasure,

as now, to discover
over Love, a new master:

His, the track in the sand
from a plum-tree in flower

to a half-open hut-door,
(or track would have been,

but wind blows sand-prints from the sand,
whether seen or unseen):

His, the Genius in the jar
which the Fisherman finds,

He is Mage,
bringing myrrh.

New Manuscript Discovery for 101 Nights

2010-08-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not too familiar with the story collection known as "One Hundred and One Nights" which, according to The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia originated from North Africa and contains some elements of the familiar stories from some of the oldest versions of the 1001 Nights. If someone can point toward a copy for sale somewhere online or elsewhere I'd appreciate it (it's only in Arabic and French I believe).

From the encyclopedia: "The work is structured as a frame story resembling the frame story of the Arabian Nights, with the motifs of adultery, the cycle of marriage and execution, and the figures of Shahrazad and Dinarzad (Dunyazad). The collection contains eighteen stories. These stories are similar to well-known stories in the Arabian Nights such as Uns al-Wujud and al-Ward fi'l-Akman, Ni'ma and Nu'm, The Three Apples, and Hasan of Basra. The Mi'at Layla wa-layla also contains versions of the Book of Sindbad, The Ebony Horse, and The City of Brass" (vol 2 594-5).

The encyclopedia also says these stories were written in the 19th century, well after the main known Arabic versions of the 1001 Nights.

A recent news article featuring German scholar and translator Claudia Ott suggests that she has found a manuscript of the 101 Nights which predates even Galland's Syrian manuscript which is, if true, one of the most significant manuscript findings in the Nights' history. The article suggests that this 101 Nights' manuscript dates from the 13th century which, apart from the Nabia Abbott fragment, would be the oldest manuscript for any stories relating to the 1001 Nights.

Whether or not this manuscript is indeed as old as they are claiming and what stories it contains remains to be seen but it is a very very interesting development nonetheless.

Here is the link to the article/interview with Ott: http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-310/_nr-761/i.html

from the article:

"However, there are divergent opinions on the relationship between the two books. There is already a critical edition of the "101 Nights" based on much more recent manuscripts from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, whose publisher, Mahmud Tarshuna, claims that "101 Nights" is the substantially older and more original text. His argument uses motifs from the framing narrative to claim that the "101 Nights" is closer to the Sanskrit and Pali texts of their old Indian literary sources than "1001 Nights" is.

But we also have some very old sources for "1001 Nights". In Chicago in 1949, a double sheet of paper was discovered in a pile of papyrus that had been brought back from Egypt. It bore the title "Thousand Nights" ("alf layla" in Arabic) and the beginning of a description of one night. The double sheet is a palimpsest dated 879. Its origins are evidently not Egyptian, where papyrus was still preferred to paper at that time, but Syrian."

-----------------------------------

"This also fits with what the Arabic sources tell us. Contemporary booksellers reports make it clear that a complete version, with 1000 Nights, must already have existed in the 9th century. Over the centuries several fragments of the work have been found, each of which have probably looked rather different from one another. The 1001st night was probably added in the early 12th century. In a notebook, discovered by chance in the Geniza in a synagogue in Cairo, there is the first known mention of the complete title on a lending note from around 1150: "Alf layla wa-layla" – "The Thousand and One Nights".

So I am convinced that "101Nights" and "1001 Nights" are part of a parallel tradition. "The Hundred and One Nights" and "The Thousand and One Nights" were contemporaneous with one another, the one probably better known in the west, the other in the east of the Arabian world. But all of this is something that requires further investigation. A magnificent chapter in Arab literary history has just been reopened."

Austen Layard and the lure of the Nights' East

2010-08-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

Austen Layard

Many thanks to JC for passing on this great article about Austen Layard (from the same website: "Austen Henry Layard (1817-1894) is famous for discovering and excavating the palaces of the Assyrian kings. Undertaken between 1845 and 1851, this achievement made him celebrated as one of archaeology’s great pioneers, a man who brought to public notice a civilization few knew very much about before. The autobiographical materials presented here describe his earlier life in England and on the continent — and especially the years of his original journey eastward and his dramatic adventures among the Bakhtiari of the Zagros Mountains (1849-1842).").

The article is about how Layard was drawn to travel to the Middle East (and perhaps develop political sympathies for it as well) due to his love of the Arabian Nights.

link: http://www.rogersandall.com/arabian-nights/

From the article: “The work in which I took the greatest delight,” he wrote, “was ‘The Arabian Nights’.” In their apartment within the Rucellai Palace, the Layard family home in Florence, “I was accustomed to spend hours stretched upon the floor, under a great gilded Florentine table, poring over this enchanting volume. My imagination became so much excited by it that I thought and dreamt of little else but ‘djinns’ and ‘ghouls’ and fairies and lovely princesses, until I believed in their existence…” Moreover, he adds, “My admiration for ‘The Arabian Nights’ has never left me. I can read them now (he was writing this late in life) with almost as much delight as I read them when a boy. They have had no little influence upon my life and career; for to them I attribute that love of travel and adventure which took me to the East, and led me to the discovery of the ruins of Nineveh.”

Kamel Kilani - Abu Sir and Abu Qir

2010-08-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

Here is an uploaded version of the story (in Arabic) "Abu Qir the Dyer and Abu Sir the Barber" by Egyptian children's author Kamel Kilani. The story is originally found in Calcutta II.

كامل كيلاني..ابو صير و ابو قير

Kamel Kilani

2010-08-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a great post from blogger Baheyya on the Egyptian author Kamel Kilani, an author who popularized children's versions of the Nights in Egypt in the early 20th century. Her post is primarily biographical and it's the best thing I've read on Kilani online in English and a great intro to the development of children's literature in Egypt.

Here's the post: http://baheyya.blogspot.com/2010/07/wonderful-world-of-kamel-kilani.html

And from the post: "Kamel Kilani Ibrahim Kilani didn’t set out to be the modern Egyptian pioneer of children’s literature. He just adored stories and had fond memories of a Greek nanny who raised him on a steady diet of fantastic myths and legends. He also recalled being captivated by tales of Abu Zayd al-Hilali and al-Zanati Khalifa recounted by an itinerant Azharite poet and storyteller in Midan al-Qala’a. Kilani was born on 20 October 1897 in the citadel neighborhood in Cairo, to a father who was a prominent engineer. He studied English literature in high school and enrolled at the Egyptian University (now Cairo University) from 1917 to 1930, reading French and English, and also attending Arabic grammar, logic, and morphology classes at al-Azhar. He spent a few brief years as a high school English teacher and was then appointed as an editor and reviser at the Awqaf Ministry in 1922 (where Naguib Mahfouz also worked), where he spent the rest of his career until retirement in 1954."

More on Kilani:

Brief history of Children's Literature in the Arabic speaking world: http://www.alsalwabooks.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=89