"Interview with Dr. Tahera Qutbuddin"

Interview by The Jaggery Essays Team

The oral tradition is vital to Arabic literature and culture. Dr. Tahera Qutbuddin’s new book, Arab Oration: Art & Function focuses on women orators in multiple contexts and across history. A 2020 Sheikh Zayed Book Award prize winner for Arabic Culture in Other Languages, Qutbuddin’s book was praised for its exceptional familiarity with classical Arabic literature. Originally from Mumbai, Tahera is a professor of Arabic Literature at the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures in the University of Chicago. She has been awarded a fellowship by the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to work on a book titled Ali ibn Abi Talib: Life, Teachings, and Eloquence of the Sage of Islam...click here to read further.