Like most of the other anthologies edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi, ShortArabic Plays is a collection of translated Arabic literary works focusedaround one particular genre. This anthology, part of Jayyusi's Project forthe Translation of Arabic (PROTA), will bring attention to a dynamic, butunderstudied, genre of Arabic literature. This diverse collection consists of20 short plays by 15 playwrights, demonstrating the breadth of the genreand its interest not only to scholars and specialists, but

more »

... lso to those concernedwith literature more generally.One problem with this particular anthology, however, is that Jayyusi'sseven-page editor's introduction barely manages to explain the impetusbehind the project, make her acknowledgments and outline the majorthemes in short plays in general – let alone contextualize the plays includedin this volume. Although it includes short biographies of the editor, contributors,and translators (after a brief glossary of Arabic words), there are nointroductions to the individual works or even such bibliographic indicationsas their original titles and dates of publication. In contrast, other anthologiesby Jayyusi – for example, Modern Arabic Poetry: An Anthology (ColumbiaUniversity Press: 1987) and Anthology of Modern Palestinian Literature(Columbia University Press: 1992) – are accompanied by useful and lengthyintroductions written by Jayyusi herself, as well as brief introductions toeach individual contribution.Likewise, the anthology most closely related to this one, ModernArabic Drama: An Anthology, coedited with Roger Allen ...