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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 30 Nov. - 6 Dec. 2000 Issue No.510 | ||
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 30 Nov. - 6 Dec. 2000 Issue No.510 | ||
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Post-Nobel reflections
The Nobel prize does not define a writer; it is simply an event. All it means is that the writer who received it made an effort, and whoever makes an effort will be rewarded -- with the appropriate destiny, as the Arabic saying has it. So you could say that, having made such an effort, the award was my destiny. But this hardly means that it is the final destination. Whatever the circumstances of one's future, the journey continues with straightforward good will. There is nothing to it: one goes on.
To make an effort is to undertake a lifelong responsibility. It is not just a matter of exerting oneself. One produces literature by applying oneself directly to the task, in my case according to a strict routine. What it takes is determination, time management and an understanding of one's own limitations. A life in writing is a strange thing, in retrospect, particularly when you haven't let the endeavour interfere with other aspects of your life.
Egyptian people are not renowned only for their modesty. They also dislike pride and hate vanity. And it is ultimately a very modest person's determination that enables him to rise in the world. Paradoxically, there is also a lot of self-respect, honour and simple, grass-roots pride. Egyptians never accept humiliation, and when they rebel, they take it very far indeed. No matter how extensive one's literary output or how proud the endeavours of one's life, all I aspire to is God's grace and a good end.
Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.
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