Series | Medieval and Modern Philologies
Edited book | Authors as Readers in the Mamlūk Period and Beyond
Chapter | 1 • Letters in my Mind
1 • Letters in my Mind
Concepts and Practices of Response in the Writing of al-Qādī al-Fāḍil
Abstract
al-Qāḍī al-Fāḍil, Saladin’s omnipotent minister and head of the state chancery, was a famous prose stylist and a model for later authors of epistolary literature. In his letters, al-Qāḍī al-Fāḍil mentions the critical reading of his own texts, and he reacts to incoming letters as an inspiration for his work as an author. For this reason and as a central component of the practice and concept of correspondence, which carried his writing, the response is a pivotal topic. al-Qāḍī al-Fāḍil referred to reading the letters he received, anticipated replies, encouraged or urged his addressee to respond, thereby referring to what the reception and reading of the reply letter meant to him as an author whose artful writing was meant to induce and nourish the ideal of an affective relationship.
Submitted: July 28, 2021 | Accepted: Dec. 13, 2021 | Published March 8, 2022 | Language: en
Keywords Interrelation of writing and reading • Ornate prose style • Conceptual framework of response • Ideal of affective relationship • Active and responsive reading • Public reading • Critical reading
Copyright © 2022 Stefan Leder. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
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