Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — Prominent speakers at a symposium emphasized that Arabic literature has crossed its geographical borders and has made great impact on the world literature. The symposium with the theme “Is the Arabic literature world literature?” was held on Sunday as part of the cultural programs being organized on the sidelines of the ongoing Riyadh International Book Fair 2022.

The speakers included Dr. Saad Al-Bazai of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Jokha Al-Harthy from Amman, and Dr. Saeed Yaqtin from Morocco, along with Beatrice Gründler, a German Arabist and professor of Arabic language and literature at Free University of Berlin and president of the American Oriental Society.

The speakers reviewed the history of Arabic literature, and its influential impact on the literature of other peoples. They noted that translated works from Arabic into other languages have had a significant impact on world literature, while citing various examples for this.

Their talks also focused on the contemporary Arabic literature and how it affected world literature, while stressing that Arabic literature moves outside its geographical borders, and has an impact on world literature.