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marco polo and the encounter of east and west
p few figures from history evoke such vivid orientalist associations as marco polo the venetian merchant explorer and writer whose accounts of the far east sparked literary and cultural imaginations . the essays in marco polo and the encounter of east and west challenge what many scholars perceived to be an opposition of east and west in polos writings . these writers argue that marco polos experiences along the silk road should instead be considered a fertile interaction of cultural exchange . p the volume begins with detailed studies of marco polos narrative in its many medieval forms including french italian and latin versions . they place the text in its material and generic contexts and situate marco polos account within the conventions of travel literature and manuscript illumination . other essays consider the appropriation of marco polos narrative in adaptations translation and cinematic art . the concluding section presents historiographic and poetic accounts of the place of marco polo in the context of a global world literature . p by considering the production and reception of the travels this collection lays the groundwork for new histories of world literature written from the perspective of cultural economic and linguistic exchange rather than conquest and conflict .
other university of toronto press 2008 isbn13 9780802099280 isbn10 0802099289
abridged n isbn 13 9780802099280 number in series 1 number of pages 338 publisher univ of toronto pr release date 62135769600000