The Poetics of Spiritual Instruction

The Poetics of Spiritual Instruction provides a new perspective on the didactic poetry of ‘Attar of Nishabur by looking at the textualisation of the ritualistic aspects of these poems. A welcome addition to the growing body of works on ‘Attar. – Fatemeh Keshavarz, University of Maryland
Speech is medicine. Starting with this metaphor, The Poetics of Spiritual Instruction shows how ‘Attar’s poetry treated his readers’ spiritual malaise by putting contemporary Sufi teaching practices into textual form. Emphasizing the performative aspects of ‘Attar’s writing, Prof. O’Malley’s clearly written study makes a ground-breaking contribution not only to the study of the poet but to our understanding of the vast corpus of didactic poetry in Persian. – Paul E. Losensky, Indiana University
O’Malley’s monograph is a brilliant contribution to the intersecting fields of Persian literary studies and medieval Sufi traditions. – Axel Takacs, Molloy University * Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations *
Austin O’Malley’s work breathes new life into this 13th-century Persian poetry, of which ‘Attar is one of the most illustrious representatives. – Marc Toutant, National Centre for Scientific Research * Journal of Sufi Studies *

Austin O’Malley is the Roshan Institute Assistant Professor in Persian and Iranian Studies in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago, and his dissertation was cited as an honorable mention by the Foundation for Iranian Studies. His work has appeared in Iranian Studies, Journal of Persianate Studies, Al-Ur al-Wus: The Journal of Middle East Medievalists, and Encyclopaedia Iranica.

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