The Magical Side of the Monstrous: Maskh as Critical Term for Modern Arabic Creativity

This article proposes that the concept of maskh is employed in Arabic literary texts as a polysemic figure of transformative change, dynamism, and an affirmative rethinking of the modern. While outwardly signaling disaffection, maskh inwardly propels creative action, giving way to experiments with narrative form, genre, and poetic language. From the mid-20th century to contemporary writing, maskh in Arabic literary writings serves as a site where the ugly and deformed in modern realities are encountered, processed, and transmuted into artistic form. Maskh may also indicate translational dynamics, adaptive practices and intercultural contact. I trace its formative role in the inception of qaṣīdat al-nathr and in feminist ibdā'. Its impact for post-1967 fiction is also analyzed, specifically for this fiction’s depiction of regime aggression against citizens. The argument running through the readings is that attention to this trope can assist in defining the singularity of literary texts as opposed to other modes of cultural discourse. Taking a cue from recent efforts to produce an “Arabic theoretical lexicon” accessible to Anglophone scholars, this article follows an Arabic concept with a long cultural history to argue for its ongoing resonance in diverse intellectual contexts.