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September 05, 2006
This entry was written by Samuel Shimon *
This was written on 25 August, but due to certain circumstances it was not possible to upload it until today.
Let me talk about one of the readings for the authors on the Banipal Live 2006 tour, all of which included the specially recorded readings with a message, from Joumana.
We arrived Derby on Wednesday 16 August, which was my birthday, but I didn't tell anyone. Ala Hlehel, Abed Ismael and Margaret Obank stayed in Derby for a reading in Derby City Library, while I went with Mansoura Ez-Eldin and Julia Bird, our tour manager, to Chesterfield. When we arrived in Chesterfield, about 6pm, there was no one in the streets - and when we got to the library, there were only the librarians there. I said to Mansoura: "Don't worry if nobody comes." Then I suggested taking a photo of her sitting in the empty auditorium of the library theatre, in the middle of the rows of seats with no one around her. It was just half an hour before the start time. I was putting up the British Council and Banipal banners, and I said to Mansoura: "You've got one hour, and you are alone!" Some of our readings on the tour were one hour long for four authors, and now it was one hour for one author! I suggested she read two stories and Julia one - first she would read "Butros: A Distant, Hazy Face", then Julia would read "A Red Gladiolus, and then Mansoura the second story "Conspiracy of Shadows". Mansoura gave me the impression it would be difficult for her to read two stories - the tour was her first experience of reading her work in English. But I convinced her that it would be a good experience. So she did it, and afterwards people told her, including myself, Julia and the librarians, that she had read perfectly.
While we had been preparing the banners, 64 people arrived and took their seats behind us. And so we had a fantastic audience. One hour was not nearly enough. They all enjoyed the works enormously. And the three stories from Mansoura gave a good idea of her work. I heard people telling her that they liked her stories very much, but they would not read them late at night, being as they were about dreams, nightmares, ghosts, death and murders.
Now the tour has ended, I can make a few comments as the host.
The authors were very busy all the time, and I can say that the tour was very successful, for the authors and for myself. The authors realised that their work held the attention of the audiences, who also showed their appreciation of the works read. The audiences were visible and vocal, joining in the discussions and signings after each reading. The authors learnt a lot from this physical contact with the audiences and I am sure they will remain always thirsty for this kind of meeting.
I enjoyed being their host. As host, as assistant editor of Banipal magazine and as an Iraqi writer myself, I observed how the western audiences received the translated works of Arab authors. First, I have to say that the translations were excellent, and there was no problem of anyone not understanding. There was an interest in the fact that they were translated, and in the discussions there were many questions about the translations - such as what the authors thought of the translations, whether there were contacts between each author and their translator. The authors were surprised that the subject matter of the questions was also about the literary conditions of writing, about censorship, self-censorship, and so on, and not about politics. Mansoura, for instance, had expected the audience to ask a lot of political questions and stereotypical questions about Moslem women writers, the relation between men and women in the Arab world, religion, etc. The authors much appreciated being treated as authors - writers and poets - not folkloric representatives of the Arab world. Arab intellectuals often feel that in general, in the eyes of the west, they are stuck in stereotypical moulds, so in that respect the tour was a real eye-opener for the authors.
We were received fantastically by everyone. Everywhere we went, we had a very friendly reception, and we felt there was a real interest. On the streets of Edinburgh, and walking around Charlotte Square Gardens where the Book Festival was held, we were stopped by Americans, by Irish and British people who had been at our reading, who thanked the authors profusely, and I saw the faces of the three shining with delight at these unexpected and completely spontaneous meetings.
Arab literature is very poorly promoted in the UK in general. But it can be done better. It is possible to have readers. There is a good market for the works in translation. Our audiences certainly found Arab literature interesting.
However, maybe there was such a good response because the authors were young, from the new generations of authors. It seems to me that maybe the West does want to hear the new generations of writers - they want to hear what these writers have to say.
Posted: September 5, 2006, 07:36:46 am (UK time)
Writer and editor Samuel Shimon was born in Iraq. He co-founded Banipal magazine and is currently its Assistant Editor. His autobiographical novel An Iraqi in Paris is presently on the long-list of the Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Literary Reportage 2006.
Images, top to bottom:
Mansoura and Julia on the way to Chesterfield - Banipal
Half an hour before the reading - Banipal
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