Global Voices » Literature

Cameroon: An Overview of Cameroon Prison Literature

Ndesanjo Macha — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:32:58 +0000

This is an overview of 10 of the most popular prison literature books from Cameroon: “In the last six months, three former high-ranking government officials currently in jail for a variety of financial crimes have published books about their prison experience.”

Mexico: Netizens Say Goodbye to Writer Carlos Fuentes

Andrea Arzaba — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:27:04 +0000

On May 15, 2012, Latin America lost one of its most important contemporary writers. Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes died in Mexico City, at the age of 83. The main cause of his death was a hemorrhage. Fuentes was best known for being part of the writers from the “Latin American Boom”, and for writing a book at least every 12 months.

People from all over the world expressed their concerns over this terrible loss. Blogger Juan José Meneu, from Blogs La Rioja, explained why he was so fond [es] of Fuentes’ way of writing:

Era un escritor terriblemente culto e inteligente y exigía de sus lectores atención y esfuerzo para alcanzar esa cultura y esa inteligencia. Con la convicción de que la literatura era un instrumento poderoso para denunciar la realidad, para mostrar los errores de los seres humanos pero también, para la esperanza, para la educación, para la enseñanza, para combatir el olvido.

He was a terribly educated and intelligent writer, and he demanded from his readers attention and special effort to reach that culture and that intelligence. With the conviction that literature was a powerful tool to report reality, to show the errors of human beings, but also for hope, for education, to combat forgetfulness.

Meneu finished his blog post with a sincere goodbye, wishing he had more books [es] by Carlos Fuentes:

Ha muerto Carlos Fuentes. Me queda el consuelo de que aún tengo algún libro suyo por leer. Me queda la tristeza de que no habrá más.

Carlos Fuentes has died. What is left is the consolation that I have yet to read another book written by him. It is sad that there won't be any more [books written by him].

Carlos Fuentes, 2008. Image from Flickr user Casa de América (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

On HuffPost Voces, the Spanish version of The Huffington Post, writer Marga Britto published a text dedicated to the author [es], where she assures that the death of Fuentes has left a country in pure loneliness:

Hubiese sido maravilloso escuchar la opinión de Carlos Fuentes tras las elecciones. Hubiese sido de gran consuelo contar con una voz de autoridad en dónde refugiarnos y hacer sentido de este gran naufragio nacional.

Nos dejas solos, Carlos Fuentes. Nos dejas un enorme hueco en la razón y en el tiempo. De pronto las letras se han quedado huérfanas y solos tendremos que vérnoslas con quien se empeña en ganar la batalla con palabras espurias, con su lenguaje bastardo, con la banalidad de los tiempos modernos.

It would have been wonderful to hear what Carlos Fuentes thought after the (Mexican) elections. It would have been a great comfort to have a voice of authority where we could find shelter and make sense of this great national shipwreck.

You leave us alone Carlos Fuentes. You leave a huge hole in reason and in time. Suddenly, the letters have been orphaned and are dealing alone with who is determined to win the battle with spurious words, with a bastard language, with the banality of modern times.

Rafa García from Fayerwayer mentioned the trending topics related [es] to the author's passing:

El autor de novelas como Aura, La Muerte de Artemio Cruz, Agua quemada, La silla del Águila, Gringo y La Región más Transparente, Carlos Fuentes, muerió hoy a los 83 años de edad en la Ciudad de México.

La noticia recorrió de inmediato todos medios de comunicación y las redes sociales, particularmente en Twitter donde su nombre Carlos Fuentes y el #todoscomocarlos se convirtieron en tema tendencia.

Q.E.P.D.

The author of novels such as Aura, The Death of Artemio Cruz, Burned Water, The Chair of the Eagle, Gringo and The Most Transparent Region, Carlos Fuentes, died today at 83 years of age in Mexico City.

The news swept away all media and social networks, especially on Twitter where his name Carlos Fuentes and #todoscomocarlos (”Everyone like Carlos”) became trending topics.
RIP

Writers and other public figures used Twitter to express their sadness and pay homage to Carlos Fuentes. Mexican President Felipe Calderón (@FelipeCalderon) [es] wrote:

Expresé mis condolencias telefónicas a Silvia Lemus, viuda del gran Carlos Fuentes.

I expressed my condolences on the telephone to Silvia Lemus, widow of the great Carlos Fuentes.

The account of the United States Ambassador in Mexico, Embajador Wayne (@USEmbassyMex) [es], tweeted:

#EmbajadorWayne: Lamento profundamente el fallecimiento de Carlos Fuentes. Su partida es una gran pérdida para el mundo.

#EmbajadorWayne:: I deeply regret the death of Carlos Fuentes. His departure is a great loss to the world.

Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska (@EPoniatowska) [es] similarly expressed her condolences:

Lamento profundamente la muerte #CarlosFuentes

I deeply regret the death of #CarlosFuentes

British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) said:

RIP Carlos my friend. Yesterday the hoax about Gabo, but this is sadly true. “Carlos Fuentes dies at 83 http://t.co/2uQGHgvC via @USATODAY“

Finally, an account that publishes quotes by Argentinian comic strip character Mafalda (@MafaldaQuotes) [es] wrote:

“Algún día se dará más valor a la cultura que al dinero” #QEPD Carlos Fuentes. #MafaldaQuotes

“Someday we will give more value to culture than money” #RIP Carlos Fuentes. #MafaldaQuotes

Pakistan: Partition Era Writer Saadat Hasan Manto Lives On

Kumail Ahmed — Mon, 14 May 2012 21:14:08 +0000

Saadat Hasan Manto (1912-1955) was a short-story writer, a dramatist and also a translator from Punjab. Today the people of the sub-continent are celebrating his 100th birth anniversary highlighting his significance in the India-Pakistan partition era. Art councils in Pakistan, press clubs, and literary clubs are organizing festivals to remember his legacy and his importance in today's society.

Manto's basic contribution to Urdu literature (with respect to partition) is that he considered the killing of thousands of Hindus and Muslims during migration as a massacre of humanity rather than of any single religion. He said:

Don't say that a hundred thousand Hindus or a hundred thousand Muslims have been massacred. Say two hundred thousand human being have been slaughtered.

Saadat Hasan Manto. From twitter: @siddharth426

This was Manto's message at the time when religious division was at its peak. People were divided - rather isolated - on religious differences and did not consider killing a major crime against humanity. In such times, Manto rose as a messenger of humanism in the subcontinental literature. He wrote dramas like ‘Toba Tek Singh' (name of a village in Pakistani Punjab), in which he highlighted the miseries of partition.

But is Manto relevant today? Yes! He definitely is relevant. His criticism on the hypocritical societal values, his attitude towards social taboos and ethos [ur], and his whimsical remarked towards United States makes him a living legend. Manto, as Zahida Hina rightly says, was a visionary.

Manto's writing can today help Pakistan to come out from the abyss of fundamentalism and extremism which is increasing day by day. The cultural and political crises which Pakistan is facing today were seen years ago by Manto in his article ‘Allah ka bara fazl ha' (God's benevolence is infinite).

Social media was flooded with comments regarding Manto's life and his work.

B. P. Singh praises Manto with the following words:

Perspicacious man, a real human being, I have acted in one of his plays in India, and truly I follow some of his writing religiously. If the mankind seriously follows his writing spirit, the world really will become a heaven! True homage and salute to a nice person ‘Manto'.

Some tweets:

@navedjaved: Remembering a prolific writer and a genius of his times, Saadat Hasan Manto on his birthday- RIP Legend!

@manish0891: Its 100th birth anni.of Saadat Hasan #Manto, one of the best short story writer of the Urdu language.

@osamamotiwala: Saadat Hasan Manto, although you are just a memory, but some memories last forever. Shine on you crazy diamond.

Manto was never frightened from expressing his thoughts. He had to go to court for his writings. But, Manto only wrote what he saw. Nazir Ahmed Minto comments:

Manto only wrote what he SAW,…… and which those people did not want too see !

Naveeda Valentina tweets:

@NaveedaV: Janam din mubarak (Happy Birthday) Saadat Hasan Manto! A man who pulled no punches indeed. *jaam chalkaoing*

@NaveedaV: Happy Birthday Saadat Hasan Manto! A man who pulled no punches indeed.

Manto is being given overwhelming coverage in Pakistani media (for English see: DAWN, THE NEWS). This fact is praise-worthy enough to be quoted. Although fanaticism has risen in the soicety, but Manto's voice still lives on.

Ahmed Shakeel tweets:

@Ahmed_Shakeel: It is heartening to see birth centenary of short story writer in Urdu Saadat Hasan Manto finds wide coverage especially in non Urdu media.

Manto died on 18th January 1955 at the age of 43. His thoughts will always be with us. Vivek Martolia comments:

manto sahab amar rahenge hamesha ke liye , he is alive in his stories.

Manto will live forever, he is alive in his stories.

Africa: Review: The Chicken Thief

Ndesanjo Macha — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:44:06 +0000

Nana reviews The Chicken Thief by Fiona Leonard: “The Chicken Thief (2011; 340) by Fiona Leonard has been described as a political thriller of sorts. Set in an unnamed African country, it provides a different take on the struggle for independence in a southern Africa country.”

Russia: Tolstoy's ‘War and Peace' Legacy Today

Donna Welles — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:05:58 +0000

RuNet Echo continues its series examining the 200th anniversary of Tsarist Russia's Victory over Napoleon by examining Leo Tolstoy's novel ‘War and Peace' and the role it plays today online. Although the book was initially published in 1869, its story begins in July 1805 and progresses through the 1812 French invasion, the Battle of Borodino, and the occupation of Moscow, all the way to the French retreat and rebuilding of Russia.

A recent survey of over 100 respected British and American authors revealed that ‘War and Peace' is considered to be one of the greatest works of the past two centuries. Russian blogger paradise-apple enthusiastically reported these results in a post titled, “Anna Karenina Won!”

These works were listed as the nineteenth century's best:

‘Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy, ‘Madam Bovary' by Gustave Flaubert, ‘War and Peace' by Tolstoy, ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain, Anton Chechov's short stories, ‘Middlemarch' by George Eliot, ‘Moby Dick' by Herman Melville, ‘Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens; ‘Crime and Punishment' by Fyodor Dostoevsky, and ‘Emma' by Jane Austin.

Additionally, TheRussianAmerica.com reviewed the authors whom the British and American judges selected as the greatest writers of all time. Again, Tolstoy was listed at the top, followed by William Shakespeare, James Joyce, Vladimir Nabokov, and Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Kramskoy's portrait of Leo Tolstoy (1873), public domain.

On the RuNet today, discussions about ‘War and Peace' and Tolstoy's literary style are common, often addressing a variety of issues such as the proper translation of the title, the length and depth of the work, and Tolstoy's use of the French language.

Translation of the Title

The title ‘War and Peace' is written in Russian as ‘Вoйнá и мир' (Voina i mir). ‘Voina' is the Russian word for ‘war.' In the context of Tolstoy's novel, ‘mir' is traditionally translated as ‘peace,' although an alternate translation of ‘mir' in a variety of contexts is ‘the world.'

Recently, two RuNet Twitter users debated whether or not the common translation, ‘War and Peace,' is what Tolstoy intended, rather than ‘War and the World.'

Evgeny:

Вчера узнал, что слово “мир” в “Война и мир” Толстого имеет значение “сообщество”, а не “перемирие”.

Yesterday I learned that the word “mir” in Tolstoy's “Voina i mir” carries the meaning “the world,” not “peace.”

Sergei:

А я не согласен. Я считаю, что он сравнивал их. Ведь у него через том описывается то война, то мир (перемирие).

I disagree. My reading is that he was contrasting [war and peace]. Why, he writes about war and about peace throughout the book.

Evgeny:

Влияние войны на общество.

[Tolstoy wrote about] the influence of war on the world.

Sergei:

Ты так говоришь, как-будто сам Толстой встал из гроба и тебе об этом рассказал :) Это же не математика!

You speak as though Tolstoy himself somehow rose from the grave and explained everything to you. :) This can't be explained like math!

Evgeny:

Добавь к моему мессаджу “мне кажется”))

Well, add a postscript that this is my personal opinion. :)

Length and Depth of the Novel

Famous for being one of the longest books ever written in either the Cyrillic or Latin alphabets, ‘War and Peace' is divided into four volumes. The novel is unique for its detailed and realistic discussion of the nature of war. Tolstoy combined his own Crimean War experiences with interviews he conducted with survivors of the French invasion to write something that resembles Thucydides' ‘History of the Peloponesian War' as much as it does a traditional novel.

On Twitter, RuNet users often focus on the magnitude of the work in terms of both its size and gravity, frequently referencing other Russian authors like Pushkin, Dostoevsky, and Bulgakov.

Lira:

Школьники, которым предстоит прочитать 4 тома «Войны и мира» очень жалеют, что на дуэли убили не Толстого, а Пушкина!

Schoolchildren, who will have to read the four volumes of ‘War and Peace,' are filled with regret that it was Pushkin who died [prematurely] in a duel, and not Tolstoy!

Ruslan Tomatov:

Читал войну и мир, только позже, когда проникся мировоззрением толстого. у булгакова до сих пор люблю только записки юного врача

I read ‘War and Peace' only later, when I appreciated Tolstoy's worldview. Until now, of Bulgakov's I've only liked ‘A Young Doctor's Notebook.'

Tolstoy's Use of French in the Novel

The French language was effectively the language of Russia's nobility, when Napoleon's army invaded in 1812. Tolstoy underscored the elite's relationship to this foreign language by writing parts of ‘War and Peace,' including the opening paragraph, in French.

In comments following an April 2012 post, Russian LiveJournal blogger dohlik_nemruchi discussed the practice of creating art in a foreign language, comparing ‘War and Peace' to Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov's award-winning 2011 film ‘Faust,' which was made in German. LJ user menelik3 reminded readers that some of Tolstoy's ‘War and Peace' had been written in French, arguing that Sokurov had likely used German simply to incite controversy. dohlik_nemruchi responded that Tolstoy's use of French was a tool to show progression in the novel — that ‘War and Peace' is initially in both Russian and French, with the latter fading as the plot develops and anti-French sentiments grow.

Some Russian bloggers prefer not to analyze Tolstoy's literary style, instead simply posting notable and perhaps timeless lines from ‘War and Peace' to their journals as status updates:

**Lovely Girl**:

Обратите все ваше внимание на самого себя, наложите цепи на свои чувства и ищите блаженства не в страстях, а в своем сердце. источник блаженства не вне, а внутри нас…

Turn all of your attention inward, restrain your feelings, and look for bliss not in passion, but in your own heart. The source of bliss is not outside, but inside us…

Botswana: Review: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:24:36 +0000

Nana reviews The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, an interesting detective story set in Botswana: “It is unique, in that it brings both the old and the new together. It is not superfluous with its description of Africa as a tomb for the death and the dying and only inhabited by wild animals as is wont of most novels about Africa, even by Africans themselves.”

Jamaica: Of Art & Literature

Janine Mendes-Franco — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:25:21 +0000

Nadine, Unscripted, notes that there are three Jamaican writers who have made the shortlists for the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize and Commonwealth Short Story Prize, while ART:Jamaica blogs about an exciting new local space for art.

Russia: Dombrovsky and Molotov

Veronica Khokhlova — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 01:04:25 +0000

The Faculty of Useless Knowledge tells a story of writer Yuri Dombrovsky's brief encounter with Vyacheslav Molotov, and shares a link to a documentary [ru] about Dombrovsky's life.

Jamaica: Literary Festival Founder Gets Guggenheim Fellowship

Janine Mendes-Franco — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:29:10 +0000

Nadine, Unscripted says that “kudos are in order for poet, author and co-founder of Calabash International Literary Festival Trust, Kwame Dawes, who has been awarded a 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship for Poetry, one of the most prestigious of its kind in the world.”

Chile: The Role of Municipalities in Promoting Reading

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:09:00 +0000

Enzo Abbagliati in his blog Cadaunadas [es] asks, “What is the relationship between promoting reading in Chile and municipal elections?” He says that two main tools that impact what and how much Chileans read depend on Municipalities: public libraries and municipal schools. Enzo asked three candidates for mayor of Providencia (a municipality in Santiago) to answer some questions regarding the commune's public library system for World Book Day. Candidate Javier Insulza [es] emailed his answers, while candidate Cristóbal Bellolio assured Enzo that promoting reading is one of his 10 priorities, but had not had the time to answer his questions.

Bulgaria: “Why Should We Read Books?”

Ruslan Trad — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:27:49 +0000

As many in Bulgaria fear that there are fewer people reading books now than in the past, Ognyan Antov of Anapest offers [bg] three answers to the question “Why should we read books?”: 1. Because thus we absorb the language and its grammar and spelling; 2. This way, we come to know world; 3. Because thereby we feel like one society.

Jordan: New Website for Short Stories

Ayesha Saldanha — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 13:38:33 +0000

Project Pen is an initiative to promote short story writing by Arabs and “encourage a new generation of writers, creating new kinds of stories, for a new kind of readership”. By sharing stories across social media, and by connecting writers with each other, Project Pen intends to bypass traditional publishing and take storytelling “back to a future when stories were carved out on cave walls, and spoken out over the camp fire”. You can find out more at the project's website (in Arabic and English), and on Facebook and Twitter.

Palestine: Launch of “100 Palestinian Blog Posts” Competition

Ola Anan — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:42:20 +0000

In a recent article on Global Voices, we introduced a Palestinian initiative called “Diwan Ghazza”, a cultural platform that aims to raise awareness and empower Palestinian youth. As Yasmeen El Khoudary, fellow Global Voices author and co-founder of the initiative, explained:

We seek to show the world a better image of Gaza (an image that exists, but has been ignored for so long), by empowerment through knowledge and by providing a venue for youth to speak out about Gaza's forgotten face.

On April 15, Diwan Ghazza announced a competition that is open to Palestinian bloggers everywhere. The idea is to collect the 100 best Palestinian blog posts, and then to publish them in a book, in Arabic and English if possible, later this year.

This contest was inspired by a recent initiative called the “100 Posts” book project [ar], by a group of Egyptian bloggers. That project resulted in a book called “The Alphabet of Spontaneous Creativity” [ar], which contained 100 posts written by Arab bloggers from five different countries (including seven Palestinian bloggers, one of them me). The paper version of the book was launched at the Cairo International Book Fair in February 2012.

The following are the rules [ar] for “100 Palestinian Blog Posts”:

1 - Each blogger is asked to nominate one blog entry only, previously published on his/her own blog.

2 - Entries will be accepted in Arabic or English.

3 - Entries can be in one or more of the following categories: literature, poetry, society, politics, fiction, and thoughts.

4 - Entries should have been written during 2011 and 2012.

5 - Entries should not have been formally published in any paper or electronic form (such as journals, books or magazines).

6 - Entries should not contain insults, racist or anti-religious content, or politically sensitive subjects.

The contest is open to any Palestinian blogger, regardless of his or her country of residence. Entries will be evaluated by a jury of Arab and Palestinian authors, in addition to an online voting process.

Those interested in participating should fill out the form here [ar].

For further information, see the official event page on Facebook [ar], or contact diwanghazza@gmail.com.

Botswana: Love in the Shadows

Ndesanjo Macha — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:20:14 +0000

Love in the Shadows is a new book by Lauri, a writer and blogger living in Botswana: “For the first time I'm trying my hand at a thriller/romance. Here's the blurb: Songbird Kedi Taukobong is living her dream. Enormously successful as an Afro-pop musician, she travels the continent performing to adoring crowds. However, fame comes at a price – a sinister stalker is watching her, intent on making her his. Kedi’s management team is determined to hire the best private investigator in the business, her ex, Sefhemo Phaladi.”

Russia: Writer Yuri Dombrovsky's Biography

Veronica Khokhlova — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 01:53:18 +0000

The Faculty Of Useless Knowledge writes about Yuri Dombrovsky, “one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.”