How Isobel Abulhoul wrote this book on Emirati literature

Writers from the Arabian Gulf, especially women, are in the spotlight.since saudi arabia king of alem Be the first to win together International Prize for Arabic Fiction (Ipaf) Her classic Mecca novel in 2011 dove necklacethe international literary world has been paying attention to the remarks of women in the region.

2019 Man Booker International Awards translated by Marilyn Booth Sayyidat al-Qamr (celestial body) Omani writer Jokha al-Harthifollowed by fellow Ipaf nominee and Oman Writers Guild Award winner Bushran Khalfan’s second novel earlier this year, dirshad. Rem Arkpracticethe first Emirati author nominated for the Distinguished Award, also on the shortlist for her book, Ross’s Diary.

While international bibliophiles marvel at what they consider a novel group of writers, longtime residents of the area see it differently.

“There has always been an incredibly long tradition vegetable Poetry and Oral Storytelling,” Trustee and CEO of the Emirates Literary Foundation Isabelle Abhur told an online audience this week.

In a speech hosted by the Emirates Association and moderated by its chairman, British MP David Jones, Abu Hur praised the late Emirati poetess Ousha bint Khalifa Al Suwaidi, An eminent cultural figure, considered one of the finest Arabic word writers and one of the many highly regarded word masters in the Arabian Peninsula.

Great storytellers in the UAE

Abulhoul said a favorite among the UAE’s “incredible storytellers” was her late father-in-law, with her Emirati husband from 1968 when she first moved to Dubai when she was 18.

“When my feet touched the sand on that little airport runway, like it was then, the sky was dark and it smelled so different, and I felt like I was Alice of Arabia, arriving at a place with a lot of stories published, “she says.

In the half century since her first landing, co-founder of the Magrudi bookstore chain and founding director of the Emirates Literary Festival has created many spaces for readers and writers to share her love of literature.

Salha Obeid, an award-winning Emirati novelist whose work has been translated into German, spoke to online audiences about how she used to be at the festival as an “avid reader and more recently as a writer”, She said many women writers are emerging in her country, “far more than men.”

“But at the same time, we need to find our unique voice on what we really want to talk about,” said engineering graduate Obaid during a discussion on the development of literature in the UAE.

A member of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority Council and the UAE Women Writers Association, Obaid has written three collections of short stories and two novels.

Obaid is also a columnist for UAE newspapers Alrojathe publisher’s narrow vision of the Middle East, “who wants to use tents and camels to focus on wars or historical times”, coupled with a lack of good translators, limits the exposure of Arabic works.

“They sometimes refuse to see how mature we are now, how complex we are, how many stories we have,” she said.

Likewise, the Emirates Literary Foundation launched its own publishing house, ELF Publishing, this year in an attempt to bring in a new generation of writers in the UAE.

Obaid said she faced more than just external misunderstandings as a writer. She admits to self-censorship of her work, even when no one else asks her to do so.

“I think women are more inclined to do that. I noticed that I put these constraints on myself, so I started to be more open to what I wrote,” said the 2016 winner of the Al Owais Creative Writing Award.

Openness is what the evolving UAE has excelled at during its half-century of existence, and it’s what makes Abu Hur’s literary scene “so fascinating”.

“It’s not just Emirati literature, but Emirati literature, it’s so fascinating because it’s a melting pot of 200 countries, and we live side by side, so we’re always part of a global community,” she said.

good words for spreading reading

More appropriately, the so-called “literary” partnered with Emirates, one of the world’s largest international airlines, to host a literary festival in 2009. Under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice-President and Ruler of Dubai, the festival quickly established itself as a regional leader of its kind, serving many visiting writers – from Canada’s Margaret Atwood to American Thriller Film writer Jeffrey Deaver – offers their first experience. Arab world.

Now in its 15th year, the festival has attracted more than 2,000 international writers since its inception and has quickly established itself as a regional leader of its kind.

It’s still a long way from Abulhoul opening what she considers to be the first branch of an “educational toy store”, but it has grown into a thriving business with more than a dozen bookstores across the UAE.

Decades of modernization have dramatically transformed the UAE’s literary scene compared to when Abu Hur arrived in Dubai three years before the country was founded.

The trustees of the International Arabic Fiction Awards say Booktok — a TikTok channel that recommends books that became almost instant bestsellers — is the latest phenomenon “showing the power of social media around the world”.

The pandemic has also provided an opportunity to dust off, Abulhoul said, calling it a “good time” to read again.

“Now they can’t live without them,” she said, adding that non-fiction books, especially so-called self-help books, and anything related to the history of the UAE were “very popular.”

It goes against the traditional Emirati Bedouin culture, where regular movement means traveling with books is unusual, and against the character-limited communication of the modern internet age.

“People are becoming more settled and books are becoming a big part of the family, which is fantastic. So reading habits are getting more and more… [and] You have to remind people little by little of the value of literature, and if we don’t read, we won’t have any writers,” Abulhoul said.

LitFest returns with ‘old friends’

Developing writing skills is an important part of Abulhoul’s mission.

As well as educating internationally renowned authors throughout the year, especially during festivals, the foundation runs popular annual competitions, including the Oxford University News Story Writing Competition, and creative courses that encourage students to unlock their own reading and reading potential. writing.

Launched in 2021, the first chapter of the Seddiqi Writers’ Fellowship has become the foundation’s flagship program and the only global standard writing mentoring program in the region.

The scholarship supports 10 selected fiction writers through a number of initiatives, including exclusive talks with renowned authors, presentations to international agents, editors and publishers, and a trip to New York for a special session at Gotham Writers’ Workshop.

In addition to the career development program, Abulhoul said, there is a competition on the “forgotten art” of letter writing to encourage writing for love.

“I think the more we can encourage non-competitive creative writing and ways to find our own voice, the better. We need more of that, and I think it’s really important that we should all be able to write,” said Abulhoul, director of the Kalimat Foundation Board Member of the Society, a non-profit organization that promotes children’s right to read books, and the Mohammed bin Ben Foundation. Rashid Library.

To celebrate its 15th Anniversary Edition journey, the theme for Emirates LitFest 2023 will be Old Friends, a tribute to the many friendships that emerge on and off the stage at the annual event.

“Most of the authors who come here become friends, but I also see the books I go back to again and again as old friends, I see pets as old friends, I see teddy bears as old friends, and I see new friends become Old friends, so you can interpret it however you want, but there is something very comfortable about old friends,” Abulhoul said.

The theme will run throughout the festival’s programming, which will feature some 250 authors this year, which Abulhoul says will be the largest speaker lineup to date.

Festival directors would be “happy to see” an Emirati writer on stage connecting with a writer from another country.

“Seeing them connected by a topic, an idea, or their writing. That’s where I think you get a really wonderful conversation that’s rooted here, in the home of the festival, where it all started.”

Updated: October 21, 2022 at 6:00 pm