Gegenwelten

The Egyptian novelist, short story writer and literary critic Idwar al-Kharra? (b. 1926) is one of the most influential contemporary authors in the Arab world. This first monograph devoted to his work focuses on his ideas concerning the forms and functions of literature developed around his concept of ‘New Sensitivity’, posing questions as to the possibilities which open up to literature beyond literary realism, the role of the author who now replaces the omniscient with a querying narrator, the construction of fictitious worlds beyond mimetic representation and how these relate to the genre of autobiography, the use of cultural and literary tradition for contemporary poetics, and the political relevance of a literary writing that prefers the subversion of fiction to traditional commitment. The study analyses his work within the context of 20th-century Arabic literature, compares it to developments in European literature, and thus positions this body of work within contemporary world literature. Die hier vorgelegten Untersuchungen zur Literaturtheorie Harrats stellen sein Werk in den Kontext der arabischen Literatur des 20. Jahrhunderts und ziehen darüber hinaus Vergleiche zur Entwicklung der europäischen Literatur. Durch diese komparatistischen Überlegungen gelingt es, die arabische Literatur aus der Rolle eines exotischen Anderen in die zeitgenössische Wirklichkeit der Weltliteratur zurückzuholen.