Contents -- Contributors -- Foreword -- Preface -- THE STUDY OF POPULAR LITERATURE IN THE PERSIAN CONTEXT -- 1. Academic approaches to popular literature -- 2. Specifics of popular literature -- 3. Cultural components of Persian popular literature -- 4. The relation between popular and elite literature -- 5. The relation between the individual and the collective -- 6. Persian popular literature as defined by content -- 7. The influence of printing on Persian popular literature -- 8. The study of Persian popular literature: present and future -- CHAPTER 1: WRITTEN KURDISH LITERATURE -- J. Blau -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Early Kurdish literature -- Gurani literature -- The beginning of Sorani as a literary language -- The Kurdish Press -- 3. Kurdish literature after World War I -- In Armenia, 1921-89 -- In Turkey, 1923-57 -- In Iraq, 1919-57 -- Prose Literature -- In Iran, 1912-79 -- In Iraq and Turkey, 1958-90 -- In the Diaspora -- In Iran since 1979 -- In Turkey since 1991 -- In Iraq since 1991 -- In Indipendent Armenia -- CHAPTER 2: KURDISH ORAL LITERATURE -- C. Allison -- 1. Oral tradition in Kurdistan -- 2. The upheavals of the late twentieth century -- 3. Studies of Kurdish oral literature -- 4. Genre -- 5. Performers -- 6. Shared traditions -- 7. Kurdish traditions -- Mem and Zin -- Dimdim -- 8. Kurdish lyric -- Lyrical love songs -- Lamentation -- 9. The future of Kurdish oral literature -- CHAPTER 3. ORALITY AND RELIGION IN KURDISTAN: THE YEZIDI AND AHL-E HAQQ TRADITIONS -- P.G.Kreyenbroek -- 1. The Yezidis and Ahl-e Haqq -- Demography -- Religious affiliations -- History -- Some characteristic ideas and beliefs -- 2. Textual traditions of the Yezidis and Ahl-e Haqq -- The absorption of outside influences -- Storylines and sacred poems -- Polyvalence -- Characteristic topics -- Creation and the First Things.

Legends explaining the community's origins and affiliations -- Saints and Holy Men -- Mystical themes -- Philosophical themes: the implications of death -- 3. The sacred poems -- Formal characteristics -- Music -- Transmitters -- On the discovery of the sacred texts -- 4. Questions of orality and literacy in connection with the poems -- CHAPTER 4: PASHTO LITERATURE: THE CLASSICAL PERIOD -- S. Andreyev -- 1. Poetic forms and genres -- 2. Early and classical Pashto poetry -- The Rowshani period -- Rowshani authors and their works -- Akhund Darweza -- khoshhal Khan Khattak -- Rahman Baba and Abd-al-Hamid -- Later classical poetry -- 3. Prose writing -- 4. Conclusion -- CHAPTER 5: MODERN PASHTO WRITTEN LITERATURE -- L.N. Bartlotti -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The development of modern Pashto literature -- The Afghan tradition -- Eastern Pashto -- 3. Other factors affecting modern Pashto written literature -- Orality and literacy -- The place of poets and writers in Pashtun society -- Modern Pashto literature and the politics of language and identity -- Literary-cum-cultural organizations -- CHAPTER 6: PASHTO ORAL AND POPULAR LITERATURE -- W.Heston -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Before 1950 -- 3. After 1950 -- 4. Bibliographies, collections and studies -- Bibliographies -- Collections -- Studies -- 5. Mass Media -- Chapbooks -- Newspapers and periodicals -- Radio and TV -- Audiocassettes and performance -- Cinema and VCRs -- 6. Concluding comments -- CHAPTER 7: BALOCHI LITERATURE -- J.Elfenbein -- 1. The classical period -- Script and dialect -- The composition by individuals of classical oral ballads -- Daptars -- Classical poetry -- The Cakur Cycle -- Ballads by or about personalities of the Cakur Cycle -- The Doda Balac Cycle -- Hammal Jihand -- 2. Literature of the post-classical periods: the eighteenth century -- Ballads -- Leyla and Majnun -- Sirin and Farhad.

Dosten and Siren -- Seh Murid and Hani -- The tale/ballad of Isa and Bari -- Known poets -- Jam Durrak -- Mulla Fazl -- Izzat Lalla -- 3. The nineteenth century -- Known poets -- Mulla Ibrahim -- Mulla Bampusti -- Mulla Bahadur -- Fakir Ser-jan -- Mast Tokali -- Rahm Ali Mari -- 4. The Modern period -- 5. Miscellaneous verse -- Songs -- Riddles and conundrums -- Proverbs -- CHAPTER 8: OSSETIC LITERATURE -- F.Thordarson -- 1. The history of writing in Ossetic -- 2. Named authors until 1917 -- 3. After 1917 -- 4. The Nart Epic -- CHAPTER 9: PERSIAN POPULAR LITERATURE -- U.Marzolph -- 1. History of research -- 2. Fields of study -- 3. Traditional popular reading matter -- 4. Folk- and fairy-tales -- Terminology -- Language and formulaic expression -- Introductory formulas -- Closing formulas -- Categories -- Characters -- Aspects of performance -- Dating Persian folk-tales -- 5. Proverbs and popular sayings -- 6. Folk humor -- 7. Folk poetry -- 8. Outlook -- CHAPTER 10: NAQQALI: PROFESSIONAL IRANIAN STORYTELLING -- K.Yamamoto -- 1. Historical background -- 2. Storytellers -- 3. Training -- 4. Tumars -- 5. Repertoire -- 6. Tumars and literary sources -- 7. Performance -- 8. Some specific features of oral performance -- 9. Conclusion -- CHAPTER 11: KASHEFI'S ROWZAT AL-SHOHADA: THE KARBALA NARRATIVE AS UNDER-PINNING OF POPULAR RELIGIOUS CULTURE AND LITERATURE -- P. Chelkowski -- 1. Kashefi and the Rowzat al-shohada -- 2. Rowze-kh ani -- 3. Ta'ziye-kh ani -- 4. Parde-kh ani -- CHAPTER 12: THE POPULAR LITERATURE OF THE TAJIKS -- R. Rahmoni -- 1. History of the study -- 2. Proverbs and maxims -- 3. Riddles -- 4. Bayt -- 5. Dobayti -- 6. Roba'i -- 7. Songs -- Tarona -- Joyful songs -- Satirical songs -- Melancholy songs -- Historical songs -- Songs for special occasions -- Harvesting songs -- Wedding songs -- Dirges (marsia) -- Improvisations (badeha).

8. Prose stories -- Afsona -- Tales about magic -- Fables (tales about animals) -- Tales about the realities of life -- Tales about love -- Edifying religious stories (qissa) -- Rivoyat -- Naql -- Fabulous tales -- Latifa -- The heroic epic -- 9. Folk drama -- 10. Local poets -- 11. Conclusion -- CHAPTER 13: ORAL POPULAR LITERATURE IN DARI PERSIAN OF AGHANISTAN -- M.A. Mills -- 1. Literacy and orality in Afghanistan -- 2. Chapbooks and oral storytelling -- 3. Research on oral culture in Afghanistan -- 4. Collections of folk literature -- 5. Studies by Western scholars -- BIBLIOGRAPHIES -- The study of popular literature in the Persian context -- Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Kurdish periodicals -- Primary literature: texts and translations -- Secondary literature -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Chapter 7 -- Chapter 8 -- Selected bibliography in the Nart Epic -- Ossetic texts referred to -- Secondary literature -- Chapter 9 -- Chapter 10 -- Chapter 11 -- Chapter 12 -- Chapter 13.