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Posted by: Muhannad Salhi
This blogpost examines the various styles of Arabic calligraphy that are used in Arabic language. The Arabic, Persian and Ottoman Calligraphy collection is housed in the African and Middle Eastern Division of the Library of Congress.
Posted in: African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED), Near East Section
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
(The following is a post by Ann Brener, Hebraic Area Specialist, African and Middle Eastern Division. The second and final part of a 2-part article focuses on the life Rachel Bluwstein via memoirs written by family and friends and by the poetess herself, presented here in English translation. Click here for Part One.) The training …
Posted in: African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED), Hebraic Section
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
The 1st of a 2-part article focuses on the life Rachel Bluwstein via memoirs written by family and friends and by the poetess herself, presented here in English translation.
Posted in: African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED), Hebraic Section
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
(The following is a post by Ann Brener, Hebraic Specialist, African and Middle Eastern Division.) This year, the Hebraic Section celebrates the Jewish holiday of Purim with a splendid new Scroll of Esther, the biblical book retelling the familiar story of palace intrigue in ancient Persia and of the Jewish Queen Esther, who saved her people …
Posted in: African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED), Hebraic Section
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
The Library of Congress is home to a collection of rare Persian language manuscripts, among which 10 unique volumes hold the writings and poetry of the master of words, Sa’di of Shiraz, who was a mystical humanist and anecdotal story teller and lived in medieval Persia from the city of Shiraz, but traveled far and wide throughout the Islamic world and wrote about the unity of mankind.
Posted in: African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED), Near East Section
Posted by: Muhannad Salhi
This is a blog about the famous "Necronomicon" and one of its main protagonists Abdul Alhazred. The Necronomicon and the characters upon which the story is originally based are all initially from the works of H.P. Lovecraft although other writers have adopted and adapted the tales themselves-perhaps most prominent among whom is Richard Chambers-in addition to many other versions of it that have appeared or are generally referenced in numerous horror movies and comics over the years.
Posted in: African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED), Near East Section
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
In 2017, the Hebraic Section acquired a miniature Hebrew prayer-book of exceptional beauty and detail, handwritten and illustrated by one Joseph ben Meir Schmalkalden in Mainz, Germany in or around 1745. With its brightly painted images and exquisite detail, this miniature is one of the loveliest examples of a genre which enjoyed something of a renaissance in 18th century Central Europe. This blog places special emphasis on the life of the largely unknown artist who created this beautiful piece, and examines the connection between his signature and the rainbow with which he illuminated one of its pages.
Posted in: African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED), Hebraic Section
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
The 11th Librarian of Congress L. Quincy Mumford was instrumental in the early development of the international collections at the Library of Congress.
Posted in: African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED), Asian Division, European Reading Room, Hispanic Reading Room
Posted by: Anchi Hoh
This post is a personal reflection on a professional friendship that African Section librarian Eve M. Ferguson had with renowned bibliographer, Abdul Samed Bemath, who recently passed away after producing a third bibliography of the legendary African historian, the late Ali Al’Amin Mazrui, who was memorialized at the Library of Congress in December 2014. Eve Ferguson worked with Bemath to create a chapter in a book of tributes, A Giant Tree Has Fallen: Tributes to Ali Al’Amin Mazrui. Abdul Samed Bemath died in South Africa on July 31, 2020.
Posted in: African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED), African Section