Marcel Kurpershoek

Scholar and Former Diplomat

Paul Marcel Kurpershoek is a Dutch scholar and former diplomat who served in the Netherlands' foreign service, including postings in the region and in Saudi Arabia. He is known for his long scholarly engagement with Nabati poetry and the oral literature of the Arabian Peninsula, having edited, published and translated the collected verse of Najdi poets within international publishing projects for Arabic literature. His work combines fieldwork and the collection of oral accounts from their bearers with rigorous textual editing, and stands as a reference in preserving this tradition and opening it to non-Arabic readers.