Remapping Arab Narrative and Sexual Desire in Salwā al-Naʿīmī’s Burhān al-ʿasal (The Proof of the Honey)

Abstract

Abstract The return to the pre-modern tradition of erotic literature in The Proof of the Honey is a deliberate act of unearthing the archives to reclaim the lost corporal memory of the Arabs, and to locate narrative, sexual, and diasporic desires on the Arab world’s cultural map. More than simply an escape from censorship, listening to the archives reflects a rejection of Western theoretical and literary frameworks. In the process of such an endeavor, the author makes a concerted effort to go beyond the fragmentation, the contestation, and the binaries of postcolonial and feminist articulations, and to shun the West’s prescribed role for the native informant. As the Arabic language and libido are resurrected, so is the belief in a more autonomous and secure Arab self.