The collection consists of manuscript drafts, transcripts, field notes, correspondence, speeches, publications and research materials, chiefly related to the research and writings of P. Marcel Kurpershoek, in particular his work on oral poetry traditions of Bedouin tribes of central Saudi Arabia. Also includes materials related to other writings by Kurpershoek, including manuscript drafts and research materials for his doctoral dissertation on the Egyptian writer, Yusuf Idris.
The collection is divided into seven series. The "Publications" series contains manuscript and typescript drafts, notes, and other materials used or created by Kurpershoek in the writing and editing of several of his books, including the "Oral Poetry and Narratives of Central Arabia," his chief scholarly work on Nabati poetry. The materials related to that often demonstrate his process of recording, transcribing, and translating poetry that Bedouins recited to him during his field work in Saudi Arabia, and often include notebooks in which he first transcribed these poems from audio recordings he had made, and then subsequent drafts in Arabic, with edits and corrections provided by the poets or those close to them, or from other scholars he worked with, primarily Saad Sowayan, the foremost Saudi scholar of Nabati poetry. Materials related to the writing and research of Kurpershoek's later works, including the titles published as part of the NYU Abu Dhabi's Library of Arabic Literature, were added in 2021.
The "Correspondence, speeches and other writings" groups together a smaller amount of material, ranging from speeches or brief articles compiled by Kurpershoek about Nabati poetry and his field work in Saudi Arabia, to copies of correspondence he sent to his wife, Betsy Udink, during his trips to Nejd or elsewhere in Saudi Arabia, in which he describes his experiences and field work. Additional correspondence with other scholars and editors is included in this series as well.
The "Research notes and background materials" contains chiefly notes compiled by Kurpershoek from secondary sources, but also includes notebooks from his fieldwork and research trips, as well as scholarly papers and offprints, most notably from scholars of Nabati poetry and related poetic traditions, as well as papers presented at a conference in Riyadh on traditional oral poetry in 1988. The "Printed materials" series contain copies of books or other difficult to obtain published materials related to Nabati poetry, and used by Kurpershoek in his research.
The series "Dissertation and other academic materials" relates primarily to Kurpershoek's research and writing of his dissertation on the Egyptian writer Yūsuf Idrīs, including transcripts of interviews Kurpershoek conducted with Idrīs, news clippings from the Egyptian press about Idrīs, drafts of Kurpershoek's dissertation text, and a Dutch translation by Kurpershoek of one of Idrīs's short stories, "al- Ḥarām." Also included are notes retained by Kurpershoek during an earlier study visit to Cairo in 1970, and materials related to the granting of his doctorate at the University of Leiden in 1980.
The "Photographs" series, consists chiefly color slides and prints taken in Saudi Arabia (and to a lesser extent, Oman), during multiple research trips from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. Many of the slides are identified in inventories created by Kurpershoek, with many of the images corresponding to events described in the book "Arabia of the Bedouins," or related to poets whose works were highlighted in his other publications. This series also includes a few images enlarged as poster-sized reproductions.
The "Sound Recordings" series consists primarily of field recordings made by Kurpershoek, beginning in the late 1980s, of recitations of Nabati poetry in various locations in Saudi Arabia. Also included are recordings of radio broadcasts of interviews with Kurpershoek, on stations in the Netherlands, usually relating to books that Kurpershoek had recently published, or about his views on current events in the Middle East.
The series "Film Footage" contains raw footage created by staff with Middle East News and the Al Arabiya television network, for use in a documentary film about Kurpershoek titled "The Last Traveler" in 2017. The film is still in process at the time of the creation of this finding aid, but shows Kurpershoek visiting, interviewing, and holding discussions with a number of Saudi Bedouin poets, among other materials utilized in the documentary, and is under license to Middle East News. Additional video content includes recordings of television programs featuring Kurpershoek, usually in the Netherlands.
