If you happen to be in The Netherlands this Thursday, February 4, LAL will be there, too! Beatrice Gruendler, editor-translator of The Life and Times of Abū Tammām by Abū Bakr al-Ṣūlī, will be giving the fourth Leiden-Aramco Lecture on Arabic Language and Culture at the University of Leiden. Her presentation, titled “Modernity in the Ninth Century: The Controversy around Abū Tammām,” will focus on al-Ṣūlī’s biography of the controversial poet.

The lecture will take place in the Small Auditorium of the Academy Building (Rapenburg 67-73) from 4:15-5:30PM, and will be followed by a reception. More information can be found on the LUCIS website.The lecture is in English and open to all. The organizers are encouraging early registration, which you can do by emailing lucis@hum.leidenuniv.nl.

Check out a recent interview with Beatrice on our blog for insight into the text and her translation (Part One and Part Two)!

—Chip Rossetti, Managing Editor