Dialogues and clashes

What to expect from Cairo International Book Fair? Youssef Rakha considers
In its 34th round, the Cairo Book Fair (opening today and ongoing for two weeks) is as gargantuan as ever, with 2,950 publishers from 92 countries exhibiting some 3,950 million publications -- statistics that can only fob off the hapless reporter. Indeed such statistics have never failed to confound the reporter in question in previous years: the quantity of books exhibited and extracurricular activities planned seems to be the top priority of the fair's organisers; quality, alas, invariably figures less prominently.
On what basis were the publishers selected and to what extent do they represent the literary output of their respective countries? How are their publications relevant to the trials and tribulations of local literary life? How gripping, let alone beneficial, will the seminars, readings, performances and symposia be? These questions are periodically shouldered aside in the face of the ever triumphant display of numbers.
Of those exhibits that have received positive press, Kuwaiti publishers occupy a large saraya: the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature, the Kuwaiti Research Council and Kuwait University -- to mention but a few. Yemen, usually a less prominent participant in the fair, supplies some 50 titles that offer an overview of contemporary Yemeni literature.
The General Egyptian Book Organisation's (GEBO) tendency to favour quantity over quality remains positive in one sense at least. It implies that it is in the size, not the content of the fair that its popularity resides. People -- many of whom, according to the leading private-sector publisher Ibrahim El-Mu'alim, for one relevant voice, do not constitute "genuine readers" in the first place -- throng the fair grounds (off Salah Salem Road) in what amounts to a cultural moulid, less akin to literary conferences, for example, than to popular family outings during the Eid.
In the wide open spaces separating the fair's various sarayas, clashes will no doubt abound; yet dialogues -- the ones with intellectual import, at least -- are likely to be somewhat less forthcoming. Even the literary-intellectual contingent experiences a sense of alienation in the midst of this grass roots uproar. But in the name of literature, millions of weekenders, besides having a good time, come in contact with books, however incidentally. Inevitably -- and this is crux -- they pick up a few volumes that they end up taking home.
GEBO has appropriately acquired the use of nine public buses for the task of conveying Fair goers to the fair from various pick-up points throughout Cairo. The entertainment retinue would not be complete without the performance arts, moreover; fortunately, at the Cinema and Theatre Saraya, screenings and performances are in no short supply.
This year the statistics come with a twist, however: 11 September has had an impact on GEBO too; and the main symposium topic -- "civilisations: clash or dialogue?" -- reflects a concern with America's omnipresent plight. Western- Islamic relations figure prominently on the programme, with major public figures discussing a range of issues from the rise of theocratic terrorism to the Crusades.
Thus 2,950 publishers from all over the world will operate in the shadow of the war on terrorism and its ongoing ramifications. Questions like "Will the American forces strike Iraq?" and "Has 11 September served to justify Sharon's brutality?" will be endlessly reiterated. 50 years since the July Revolution, 20 years under Mubarak, peace in Palestine: these are some of the "fringe" topics on offer, the last of which, no doubt, will be discussed in the context of the America vs terrorism and the Zionist influence on Washington.
Depending on the participants who discuss them, the so called debates may well prove stimulating and provocative. Yet for the most part, since so many of the participants in question are government figures (Alieddin Helal, Ahmed Maher and Farouk Hosni, for example), it is safe to expect the official line on all things political. Exceptions, relating to the July Revolution discussions, include Khaled and Zakareya Mohieddin and Mona Abdel-Nasser, as well as economist Hazem El- Biblawi and columnist Salama Ahmed Salama; while the Palestine debates boast such celebrated figures as Saeb Urayqat, Azmi Bishara and Mahmoud Abbas (Abou Mazin). The July Revolution will be tackled from the viewpoint of its effects on the Arab world throughout the second half of the 20th century. The Intifada, on the other hand will figure in a wide variety of contexts. What are the pros and cons of the Intifada? And what kind of future awaits it in the context of the war on terrorism?
Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz's 90th birthday provides an altogether different point of departure for all things literary, on the other hand. The participation of the American professor of Arabic literature Roger Allen (along with such men of letters as Denis Brian, Soliman El-Askari and Gaber Asfour) in Mahfouz-inspired discussions of Arab life and literature is a highlight well worth anticipating. A programme of screenings affords the public the opportunity of viewing seven classics of the Egyptian screen based on novels by Mahfouz, while the week-long string of seminars, according to a GEBO spokesman, "will tackle the master's many-sided relationship with Egyptian society, political trends that inspired him and the [relatively new] notion of Mahfouz as a philosopher in the garb of a novelist." These events, scheduled for the second week of the fair, comprise a large-scale "birthday celebration," organised by Hamdi El- Sakkout and opening with a documentary on the novelist's life.
Literary highlights also include the presence of the Sudanese novelist Al-Tayeb Saleh, author of the groundbreaking Season of Migration to the North. Saleh, who has kept a remarkably low profile in recent years, will provide not only a valuable contribution to discussions of writing and the place of the writer in modern Arab society but a perspective on the current, problematic conditions of Sudan. It may be worth mentioning, in this context, that the aforementioned novel was banned in the writer's homeland a few years ago, despite its sterling international status. Saleh's personal experience will thus be relevant to the issue of religious extremism as well.
Another set of seminars, entitled "Egypt: Gift of the Nile," concentrates on the propitious river, its history and the issues currently surrounding it. Scientists as well as writers and artists will participate in discussions of questions like Egypt's water supplies and the historical and cultural connection between Sudan and Egypt, which is bestowed by the Nile; a programme of documentaries on the Nile accompanies the proceedings.
Women's issues, as always, are the subject of yet another cluster of seminars. Worth mentioning is the seminar on the participation of women in legislative councils and the National Council for Women, to which Farkhanda Hassan, the secretary-general of the Council, and Amal Osman, former minister of social affairs, will contribute.
Additional reporting by Mustafa El-Minshawi
Recommend this page
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
Send a letter to the Editor