THE POETICS OF SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTION

Date: Friday, September 27

Time: 11:00 AM-12:30 PM

Location: Online

Join Austin O’Malley as he discusses his new book, The Poetics of Spiritual Instruction, a study that explores the performative role of didactic poetry through the narrative verse of Farid al-Din ʿAttar. O'Malley highlights how ʿAttar employed frame-tales, meta-poetic commentary, and allegories to engage readers and assert his instructive authority. The book sheds light on the interactive, participatory nature of Sufi didacticism, revealing how reading was understood as a spiritual exercise, imbued with ritual significance aimed at purifying the soul.