Al-Ahram Weekly | Culture

		17 - 23 October 2002 Issue No. 608 Culture	Current issue Previous issue Site map
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Recommend this page

Nobel controversies
THE SWEDISH Academy awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2002 to the Hungarian writer Imre Kertész "for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history."
Born in Budapest in 1929, the Jewish author was deported to Auschwitz in 1944 and then to Buchenwald, before being liberated the following year. Returning to Hungary, Kertész translated German language books into Hungarian including works by Nietzsche and Freud.
In his few novels, Kertész draws on his experience as a teenager in Nazi concentration camps. His first work, Sorstalansag (Fateless), was published in 1975 and deals with the story of a young man who is arrested and taken to a concentration camp where he conforms but survives.
In an interview with Hungarian radio, Kertész said he wrote about the Holocaust because it had no language; "the Holocaust does not have a language because it has no homeland." In A Kudarc (Fiasco), 1988, he focuses on an ageing author who writes a novel about Auschwitz and contrary to his expectations it is accepted by publishers forcing him to come to terms with his inner feelings of emptiness. Kaddish For a Child Not Born, his short 1990 novel, deals with a middle-aged Holocaust survivor looking back on his life.
The Swedish Academy's decision was received with indignation in the Arab world prompting writers to question the politicisation of the prize. Kertész is not a well known author, indeed many of the greater names of literature have not historically received the prize, names such as Tolstoy, Chekhov, Ibsen, Joyce, Conrad, Kafka and Brecht. Last year's prize went to V S Naipaul the Trinidad-born British author known for his views against Islam. That this year's prize should go to an unknown author whose chief credit is writing about the Holocaust was seen by critics in the Arab world as marking a political statement by the academy to the backdrop of attacks against the Palestinians.

Remembering Radwan
FRIENDS of the late filmmaker Radwan El- Kashef organised an evening in his memory last Wednesday in association with the National Centre for Cinema, at the Cairo Opera House's Small Hall. The evening included a short introduction by NCC director Ali Abu Shadi and the screening of three films. The first is directed by Ali Murad and includes shots from El-Kashef's three feature films as well as brief scenes from home videos depicting the late director with family and friends at various stages of his life all intricately sewn together to give an idea of his views and sentimentalities. The second, directed by Yasser Muffaddal, was produced by the Nile Entertainment Channel and included in addition to scenes from El-Kashef movies, interviews with his father and sisters as well as several of his friends and colleagues.
The third film screened was, in fact, El- Kashef's first, his graduation project at the Cinema Institute, Al-Ganoubiya (The Southern Woman).
On the occasion of this memorial evening a book compiling reviews of El-Kashef's films and retrospectives on his life and work was published alongside the screenplay of his film Araq Al-Balah.

Honouring Rizq
VETERAN stage actress Amina Rizq was honoured in a special celebration at Al- Hanager Theatre on Monday for her outstanding theatre career. Her most recent role is in Al-Hanager's current production The Thousand and Second Night.
Rizq first stood on stage on 24 October 78 years ago before the legendary Youssef Wahbi.

New writing
MOHAMED Hashim, owner and director of Miret Publishing House, has launched a new literary series entitled Kitaba (Writing). The series will publish only outstanding literary works at affordable prices and will have an advisory editorial board of leading critics and writers.
The first volume of the series is a translation of Noam Chomsky's 11 September. The second is Mohamed El-Bosatie's novel Fardaws.

Laugh no more
POET Mohamed Hegazi, 19, has been detained for another 15 days under police custody. A resident of Port Said, Hegazi was arrested two weeks ago on allegations that his collection of poetry, Dahiqat Sherin (Sherin Laughed) spread false rumours and jeopardised public security.

Celebrating women
UNDER the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, the Supreme Council for Culture (SCC) is holding a six-day conference on Arab Women and Creativity starting on the 26th.
The conference will include seminars, papers, testimonies, exhibitions and film screenings, all dealing with the creative works of Arab women in various artistic and scientific fields.
One hundred and forty participants from the Arab world, the US, Italy, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and Spain are expected to attend.
On the occasion of the conference, the SCC will publish 15 critical studies including translations and studies related to women's issues.

Hemeida as Shylock
DIRECTOR Hani Mutawie has started rehearsals for the National Theatre's upcoming winter production, The Merchant of Venice. Starring Mahmoud Hemeida in the leading role of Shylock, the play is expected to open during the last week of Ramadan.
By Amina Elbendary

Send a letter to the Editor Recommend this page

ARCHIVES
Letter from the Editor
Editorial Board
Subscription
Advertise!

WEEKLY ONLINE: weekly.ahram.org.eg
Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time
weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg

Al-Ahram Organisation