2023-10-13 15:52:09
Lebanese novelist Najwa Barakat prepares and presents the “Readings” program (Al-Arabi 2) concerned with literature and its conditions. Like a beacon on lonely nights, it restores the value of a declining culture.
It hosts novelists, some of whom are dedicated and others of fresh, sparkling blood, and deals with the latest publications to help guide the reader. When I presented the idea, the station welcomed it. She wanted to just prepare, so I encouraged her to go through the whole adventure.
Barakat tells Asharq Al-Awsat that the idea is not unique, and perhaps it may come to the minds of those interested in culture and its fate. She says: “Amid the huge amount of productions, it is necessary to pause with the book.
Culture is facing the dilemma of general decline, and the reader does not fully know which publication might satisfy his hunger. His only proof is trophies. Sometimes, it may not be fair, and in its way blocks the light from other categories that deserve a chance. We become readers of award literature, and this, in my opinion, is dangerous. “It is the danger of limiting desire.”
The program pays attention to a generation that is interested in cultural affairs and awaits the latest publications, without missing out on trends in world literature and translation paths. In Najwa Barakat’s opinion: “The necessity exists, and there must be an initiator. “On the road, you have to start with one step.”
The discussion of immigration, literature, and the concerns of writing brought together the Tunisian novelist Habib Al-Salmi and the Iraqi poet Sinan Antun in the first episode. Barakat is knowledgeable and asks questions that are aware of her background. She does not read what is written on paper, but rather “gets involved” in the topic and feels involved. From Beirut, actress Anju Rayhan appeared to talk regarding three characters she plays in the play “Majdara Hamra,” which has been running for five years. She tells her interlocutor that the spirit of these three women resides within her to the point of absorbing the role and transforming it into each other.
Najwa Barakat between the Tunisian novelist Habib Al-Salmi and the Iraqi poet Sinan Antun (Facebook)
In the second episode, he attended a discussion of war and the pandemic in literature. The Lebanese novelist Hassan Dawoud spoke regarding love that is revealed in isolation, and told his interviewer what he wanted from his novel “A Chance for One Last Love,” the events of which are derived from the epidemic. The Syrian novelist and journalist Somar Shehadeh touched on the issue from its reality related to his country’s grief. Barakat between the two, asking her questions and searching for the meaning of the dialogue. You want it to have an impact.
You know that a book may frighten you because it is thought to be a burden, and that television, in the end, is an entertainment space whose ultimate goal is broad appeal. However, she asserts: “People get bored with the information presented in 30 seconds. Abbreviation is not the solution, and there is restlessness with fragmentation. The era of the two-hour podcast is back, and someone is listening and waiting. Television’s goal is to accumulate an audience, that’s true. But culture is also required. We should try before passing judgement. I sense a thirst for topics that explore depth, rather than just deconstruction. I call for vertical knowledge instead of taking all topics on a horizontal path.”
She seeks diversification, so the discussion is not limited to literature. He will attend the meeting, travel literature, and biography in the upcoming episodes, according to the rule of “not allowing information to be revealed.” It is haunted by the fate of the writer when no light is shed on him. Writers suffered injustice because no one noticed their work. Her program restores the status of good books: “We help our readers discover writers who are not necessarily famous. This does not mean neglecting the presence of the consecrated writer. “Young people are important too.”
The episodes pay tribute to forgotten writers and others who have left the earthly world, and whose work remains radiant. “We didn’t start from scratch,” she says. There are those whose efforts we must remember on the path of humanity.” Since setting up a professional to teach novel writing, Najwa Barakat has been asked: “What do we read?” What do you advise? Students and those interested in literature are placed only in front of the winning book. She comments: “Prizes serve reading in one direction. Limiting literature to a prize limits its concept. Instead of being broad and comprehensive, it becomes limited and diminishes.”
Najwa Barakat’s program restores the importance of the deteriorating culture (her Facebook account)
It is necessary to ask regarding the “writer’s aura.” Did you find anything affecting the presentation and exposure to abundant light? She answers that the corona issue does not concern her. She is not of the type who glorifies halos, but rather sees them as stereotypical and closer to naivety: “I do not find myself surrounded by a halo, and I do not care regarding that. The writer is not sulking all the time and residing in high-rises under the pretext of aura. When I presented the idea for the program to the station, I entered only for preparation. During the discussion, the question was asked of who would be presenting. The administration wanted me to do so, and following hesitation, I found myself in front of the camera, forgetting it episode following episode, as if I were at home, hosting writers and discussing issues.”
Many of her novelist friends are invited by Phillip to reassure them of her mastery and sobriety of content. Despite their knowledge that television speaks all the time without the speech always achieving the desired benefit, there is an aspiration to “restore the original.” Entertainment alone does not dominate, but is accompanied by politeness to human taste, reason, and awareness. “An hour a week may not work a miracle, but it’s a try,” she says. I don’t claim to save the world. I want my program to create a reader who is good at finding a valuable book. Readers are also created. I object to the statement that the audience dictates the content. The audience is directed.”
Najwa Barakat imitates a reader whose circumstances fail him, as the school does not help in building it and his small community does not take it into his own hands: “The book becomes a luxury, as prices rise. Television is free and enters every home.”
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