Making the Great Book of Songs: Compilation and the Author's Craft in Abv I-Faraj al-IsbahGne's KitGb al-aghGne

This is the first systematic literary study of one of the masterpieces of classical Arabic literature, the fourth/tenth century Kit'b al-agh'nî ( The Book of Songs ) by Abû I-Faraj al-Isbah'nî. Until now the twenty-four volume Book of Songs has been regarded as a rather chaotic but priceless mine of information about classical Arabic music, literature and culture. This book approaches it as a work of literature in its own right, with its own internal logic and coherence. The study also consistently integrates the musical component into the analysis and proposes a reading of the work in which individual anecdotes and poems are related to the wider context, enhancing their meaning.