Edward Said Memorial Conference - Marina Warner

Keynote lecture by Prof. Marina Warner: "Burning the many-coloured fish: Re-readings in the 1001 Nights." Edward Said Memorial Conference, Utrecht, 17 April 2013. What is this lecture about? "Is there a political vision for today in the stories of the Arabian Nights? Can Edward Said's thoughts on contrapuntal interpretation and late style be applied to these fairy tales. Is oriental fabulism a form of polyvalent allegory? The Victorian translators and editors of the book were demolished by Said in Orientalism. But he expressed admiration for other interpreters, and new editions, such as that by Andre Miquel and Jamel Eddine Bencheikh in 2005, have revisioned the book with sensitive awareness of its context and meanings. Marina Warner will explore the question of the Nights in our time of antagonism, with special attention to 'The Prince of the Black Isles' in which a multicultural city is first destroyed, then restored." Edward Said Memorial Conference was organised by the Centre for the Humanities at Utrecht University as one of the Treaty of Utrecht commemoration events on 15-17 April 2013. More information available at: http://cfhutrecht2013.com/.