Stepping out of the comfort zone
Workshop looks beyond routine to enhance writing
abu dhabi — A literary workshop in Abu Dhabi has driven home the benefits of interacting with people outside their usual habitats, even for the most pessimistic writers.
“Initially, I was not very enthusiastic in meeting writers from different cultures,” Sameer Kacimi, an Algerian said of the nadwa — workshop — held at the fifth International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAH) that took place at Liwa’s Qasr Al Sarab desert resort from October 29 to November 5.
Sameer thought it was impossible to write if he was removed from his environment but by the end of the nadwa, he said he felt it was actually good for writers to go beyond their usual writing routine. “The nadwa opened up my heart to other cultures. Now I find myself standing on another kind of balcony, not Algerian, and have gained a different insight of beauty.”
Other writers hailed from Morocco, Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan and the UAE. At the workshop, each participant either wrote an entirely new text or completed one they had already begun. “The writers were asked to read out their works and to listen to the comments of others,” said author Mohammed Achaari, the Moroccan IPAH winner for his book
and principal mentor at the workshop.
Acclaimed Lebanese author May Menassa whose was shortlisted for the 2008 IPAH was the other mentor at the workshop.
Achaari said there was a “humanitarian depth” to the stories produced indicating a new development in contemporary Arabic literature, while Manessa said the silent, meditative mood at the resort helped each young writer to bring their stories out into the open.
“There was a serious project that each writer had. They will now return to their own countries and carry on their work until they become completed works,” said Menassa.
IPAF administrator Fleur Montanaro said the pieces produced during the 2013 nadwa would be published in a bilingual English/Arabic volume. “We have published two books that took shape in earlier IPAF nadwas. A third one is ready for printing.”
Nasrin Trabulsi from Syria, a TV news presenter on Kuwait Television who snatches time to write in between her busy schedule, said: “When I began writing seriously, I used to ask all my neighbours to give their views on my writing. But here at the nadwa, we got the opportunity to discuss serious writing with talented writers.”
Hicham Benchaoui of Morocco echoed similar sentiments adding, “In the Arab world, we need more experiences like these.”
Lulwah Al Mansuri from Ras al Khaimah, who won the 2013 Dubai Cultural Prize for her short story collection
said such initiatives should come from other Arab countries too.
Ayman Otoom of Jordan, who had served a prison term in his country for his political writings, said: “The variety of people I met in jail in Jordan and the range of literary directions I encountered at this nadwa, all have made my life richer.” —