Neoplatonism, the dominant philosophy of Late Antiquity, inspired not only the intellectual traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam but also their arts. Neoplatonic notions of the ascent of the soul, the nature of love and beauty, divine immanence and transcendence, and the interplay between the many and the One, have for centuries left comparable marks on the poetry of Western Asia, North Africa and Europe. This volume focuses on the Greater Mediterranean and discusses authors who wrote in Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Persian, Spanish and Turkish, from medieval times to the present day. Among them are many celebrated exponents of their respective classical traditions, including Dante, Ibn Arabi and Ibn Gabirol. Major contemporary poets writing in these languages have continued to engage with the Neoplatonic heritage assimilated by their forbears. Particular attention is therefore given also to the modern period. The findings gathered here demonstrate that Neoplatonism is a cross-cultural phenomenon of outstanding importance which has given rise to a distinct 'Neoplatonic poetics' and remains relevant by pointing the way towards an inclusive sense of identity commensurate with a pluralist world.

About the Author
Stefan Sperl, a graduate of Oxford (Arabic) and SOAS (PhD 1977), and former staff member of UNHCR (1978-88), is now Emeritus Professor of Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at SOAS. His publications include articles on Arabic, Islamic and Refugee Studies, as well as Mannerism in Arabic Poetry: A Structural Analysis of Selected Texts (1989), Qasida Poetry in Islamic Africa and Asia (with Christopher Shackle, 1996) and The Cosmic Script: Sacred Geometry and the Science of Arabic Penmanship (with Ahmed Moustafa, 2014), which won the Iran Book of the Year Award (2016). His most recent publication is 'The Qur'an and Arabic Poetry' (The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies, 2020). Yorgos Dedes's teaching includes courses on Ottoman and Modern Turkish language, literature and culture. Since 2005 he has also been teaching at the Intensive Ottoman and Turkish Summer School in Cunda, Turkey. His research interests focus on Ottoman literature and Turkish culture with special reference to frontier epic traditions and relations with Byzantium and Greece. Another area of interest is the aljamiado literature of the Greek- speaking Muslims of the Ottoman empire. Recent publications include a book chapter on Bursa in Europe: A Literary History, edited by David Wallace (CUP 2015), an edition of the Greek aljamiado translation of Suleyman Celebi's Mevlid-i nebi (Journal of Turkish Studies, 2013) and an article on Ottoman poetry with Stefan Sperl ("'In the rose-bower every leaf is a page of delicate meaning': An Arabic perspective on three Ottoman kasides", in Eski Edebiyat Calismalari VIII, Istanbul 2013).

Reviews
The volume is full of fascinating insights and implicit links and it provides an original overview of poetry in a Neoplatonic vein in the confluence of Europe, Africa and Asia, ranging from the 4th Century CE right up to the modern world. * Kevin Corrigan, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA, International Journal of the Platonic Tradition *
The volume is full of fascinating insights and implicit links and it provides an original overview of poetry in a Neoplatonic vein in the confluence of Europe, Africa and Asia, ranging from the 4th Century CE right up to the modern world. * Kevin Corrigan, International Journal of Neoplatonic Studies *



Book Information
ISBN 9780197267257
Author Stefan Sperl
Format Hardback
Page Count 504
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 874g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 163mm * 32mm