ROSETTA_MAGAZINE_201303

92
Laila Al Atrash
LITERATURE, WhERE IS IT hEADING?
By Laila Al Atrash Jordan
To speak now of the role literature plays
in societal and intellectual change, and
informing revolution in society seems
exaggerated. To speak of the role it plays
in bridging the gab between various
cultures through translation would be
forced at best.
We live in the age of ideas, and multimedia
and mediums, the age of direct
politics and economics, all of which form
the world of today. It is time literature
dealt with it.
The 20th century saw other forms of
communication: cinema, theatre and then
television, all of which played a large part in
the distribution of the literary works to the
public and the world, some of these works
would have never been successful had
these mediums not embraced them. And
every era has its tools of communication to
serve its literature and arts.
Enlightenment in the Arab World began
with the advent of the 20th century, writers
benefited greatly from the translation of
literary works on stage, radio, and screen,
Egypt was actually the 2nd place in the
world to do this after Hollywood. It is no
wonder that acclaimed novelist Najib
Mahfouz, the only Arab thus far to win the
Nobel Prize for literature, was one of the
first Arab novelists to write screenplays.
He also holds the distinction of having the
most number of novels adapted on the
big screen. Millions of illiterate people
saw these films, though they never read a
single one of his books.
Our world today is about direct access
and online presence, a world where we no
longer read from books, and our writers
should realize these new parameters. Paolo
Coelho was recently asked about the impact
the internet had on promotion of literary
work. He admitted that sales of his books
had doubled after he published excerpts on
social media channels and his website.
If a prominent world writer like Coelho
felt a sizable increase in recognition, then
lesser known novelists should take notice
and follow suit.
Sadly though, some concepts have
disappeared all together from the
repertoire of various schools of critics in
the 20th century; perhaps most notably
the concept of ‘discipline’; the kind
of discipline that does not infringe on
freedom of speech or force literature into
a specific ideological mold. As a result the
literary world is plagued by over-saturation
of content, over-publication, and many true
writers are drowned out in all the clutter,
both online and offline.
In our part of the world, with its era of “Arab
Spring”, no one can claim that literature
was the sole driving force behind these
uprisings, though many literary works have
depicted the tipping points in our societies.
Many novels have also documented these
Arab revolts though, unfortunately, none
were particularly notable. A novelist needs
time to absorb intellectual and political
changes without falling prey to preconceived
notions and ideologies.
Every modern writer is plagued by the
same eternal question, whether they be in
the ever evolving Arab world living through
the birth of new political, economic and
intellectual notions, or the rest of the world
which is more stable. That question is: Do
I right for myself, Or to change the world
around me?
No writer can claim to write solely for
the sake of spiritual satisfaction or for
the ecstasy of creation. These make
the hardships easier, but they pale by
comparison to the gratification felt when
your society appreciates your work, and
critics celebrate your literary experience.
93
Internet has broken down barriers between
cultures, and created an enormous amount
of literary magazines and social networks
for writers to converge on in every language,
arguably putting cultural dialogue in the
hands of citizens around the world, and
preying it from the hands of governments and
international organizations that tried to foster
and monopolize it for years. Yet the imagined
“Other” is still playing a significant role in
the East-West relationship, because political
geography has generated an ideology filled
with conflict, dispute and blood.
So what is the role of literature in the 21st
century? Can it still, in its traditional forms
of novels, poetry and story telling, make
a tangible difference in the societies that
house it?
When I found my name in the “Arab Human
Development Report” on Women (2005)
among a few Arab women writers, who”
made a difference and left some social
impact,” I wondered if we really deserved it?