This book introduces the work of twenty-nine pivotal authors from the Arab world writing in Arabic, English, French, and Hebrew. Organized around the central themes of memory, place, and gender, each of which is discussed in an introductory essay, the volume provides a critical framework for Arab writing, locating it alongside contemporary world literature. The contributors argue that Arabic literature engages with the global postmodern condition without denying its own traditions. As such, Arabic Literature: Postmodern Perspectives paves the way for an important cultural dialogue between East and West. "In the 1950s and 1960s, Arabs were enthused by ideas of modernism and they strongly believed in the certainty that they were on their way to achieving modernity and the national unity of their post-colonial Arab world. Their summary defeat by Israel in the 1967 war exposed their illusions; and reality to them did not seem to be the same ever since, especially to their writers."  - Review of Middle East Studies.