Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. A Note on Conventions ix
4. Dramatis Personae: A Very Short History of Ḥarīrian Commentary xi
5. Introduction 1
6. Chapter 1 The Colonial Economy of Literature A Séance 18
7. Chapter 2 Reading in Commentary Culture 44
8. Chapter 3 The Social Lives of Manuscripts 73
9. Chapter 4 The Maqāmāt and Its Discontents 100
10. Chapter 5 Theorizing Fiction Chapter 123
11. Chapter 6 The Poetics of Islamic Adab 149
12. Chapter 7 Gate-Crashing the Text 175
13. Conclusion 206
14. Notes 213
15. Bibliography 247
16. Index 271
17. Acknowledgments 287