The book Transcending Traditions is interesting, original, and is a valuable contribution to the study of Arabic literature and culture. Prof. Ewa Machut-Mendecka, University of Warsaw

Barbara Michalak-Pikulska is the Head of the Arabic Department of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. She obtained her Ph.D. in Arabic Literature from the Jagiellonian University in 1994, and now she is professor of Modern Arabic Literature. She has spent many years in Kuwait and other countries of the Gulf and the fruits of her studies include: Tradition and Innovation in the Works of Layla al-'Uthman (in Arabic, Beirut 1997), Thurayya al-Baqsami. Between a Brush and a Pen (in Arabic, Kuwait 1997; in English, Krakow 2009), The Contemporary Kuwaiti Short Story in Peace Time and War 1929-1995 (Krakow 1998), An Outline of Contemporary Short Story Writings of the Arabian Peninsula. Selected Problems and Source Readings (Krakow 2000), Modern Poetry and Prose of Oman 1970-2000 (Krakow 2002), Modern Poetry and Prose of Bahrain (Krakow 2006), Authority, Privacy and Public Order in Islam (ed. with A. Pikulski, Leuven-Paris-Dudley, MA 2006), Intertextuality in Modern Arabic Literature Since 1967 (ed. with P. Starkey, L. Deheuvels; Durham 2006 1st ed.; Manchester 2010 2nd ed.), as well as many papers on various aspects of contemporary Arabic literature.