JIVAT

JIVAT · Reading in the original

Classical languages, difficult texts: an invitation not to learn but to know.

Private reading of Arabic, Persian and Ottoman texts in the original, one-on-one. Hafez, Rumi and Sa'di in Persian; Ibn Khaldun and Ibn al-Haytham in Arabic; Ottoman texts and manuscripts in their own script. Modern Turkish, and Kurdish on request.

Write to me

Who it's for

  • Adults and university students who want real reading ability, not phrasebook fluency
  • Graduate students and researchers who need to get through Ottoman, Persian or Arabic sources
  • Readers working through Islamic intellectual history in English, with someone who reads the sources
$75 / hour online
$90 / hour in person, Southern Marin
Four-session blocks: $280 online, $340 in person

What we do

  • Arabic. Modern or classical; philosophy, science and poetry in the original
  • Persian. Conversation and the classical poets; the verse first, then the grammar behind it
  • Ottoman and modern Turkish. Script, texts and manuscripts, paleography; rarely offered in the Bay Area
  • Kurdish. On request
  • Close reading. Literary, philosophical, historical: how to read a hard text slowly and well
Sessions are 60 or 90 minutes
Library study rooms in Corte Madera, Sausalito or Tiburon, or your home, or online

Contact

Start with a free 20-minute call.

Write me a few lines about the text you want to read. I reply personally.