WHEN THE LIBRARY WAS STOLEN On the Private Archive of Abd Al-Rahman Munif
In 2015 the private library of the author and novelist Abd Al-Rahman Munif was burglarized in his residence in Damascus. Munif is considered as one of the most renowned authors and novelists in the Arab world. During his lifetime, he lived in various Arabic and European countries settling in Damascus the last thirty years of his life until his death in 2004. He has published numerous books, novels and studies in the field of literature.
In the thick contents of Abd Al-Rahman Munif’s library we can read the political and cultural movements of the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa. In that regard, it is a distinctive case study for a research into the archives of the Arab private library, a central hub for publications. Munif’s biography and his migrations represent finely the trajectories of the Arab intellectual and of his library: Munif was a Saudi writer who relocated and migrated continuously between different countries his entire life. He was also a collector of books. In every place he settled, he set up a personal library at home. His peregrinations began in the 1940s and lasted until the late 1980s. Munif lost some of his libraries, but he managed to bring most of them to Damascus, to his main library, enriched by all the changing historical eras and cultural lives he experienced. Munif’s library uncovers the metamorphosis of knowledge production and publishing practices in Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa region.
The book is based on a long-term research by Fehras Publishing Practices followed by cataloging it’s content that counts approx. 10.000 publications.
When the Library Was Stolen is in three chapters. This first features selected texts addressing the library as a space, publication practices in the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa, and archiving publications with contributions from: Amer Bader Hassoun (Archivist, publisher and collector), Suad Kawadri (The wife of Abd Al-Rahman Munif), Hassan Yaghi (Publisher), Franck Mermier (Anthropologist), Fehras Publishing Practices & Nadia Saleh (Radio Producer).
The second chapter includes a catalogue documenting approx. 10.000 publications of the library, and the third presents the photographs of Munif’s library. These are the key documentary materials that set the foundations for the content of the book.
When the library was stolen proposes a re-reading of the Arab private library archive from many perspectives. This reading interweaves the process of documentation with personal and research experiences.
The book is funded by:
Senate Department for Culture and Europe, Berlin, Germany
Villa Romana, Florence, Italy
Mophradat aisbl, Brussels, Belgium