2 - 8 May 2002
Issue No.584
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 2 - 8 May 2002 Issue No.584 |
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Literary brew
Should novelists integrate the history of their countries in their work? As someone who lived through many national upheavals, from the 1919 revolt onwards, let me attempt an answer. There is no doubt that novelists must, in one way or another, express the mood of their societies; naturally, the intensity of such expression will vary. Some writers are particularly interested in public affairs, others less so.
I always had an eye for public issues and it is an inclination that was always going to find its way into my work. Events that are now unfolding in Palestine, for instance, will one day turn up in the pages of narrative fictions. But should novelists start writing about them right now? No. This is not the time to write, but to act. Literature, in the sense it should follow, not coincide, with events, is a luxury. I wrote about 1919 50 years after it happened. At the time when it was happening I, like everyone else, just experienced events.
You cannot just retire to your desk to write a novel or a play about something that is still happening. Perhaps a song or a poem is possible, but not much more. You need the distance. You need to let it sink, brew inside you. A good deal of brewing is now taking place. One day it will take literary shape.
Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.
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