Rajasthan
Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah opens JLF with moorings on writing as resistance | Jaipur News
JAIPUR: Opening the Jaipur Literature Festival here on Thursday, Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah put things into context by dwelling on what writing means.
The Tanzanian-born British author of novels like Paradise, Desertion and By the Sea among others spoke about writing as a form of resistance by attempting to gauge what it was in resistance to. He said that it is resistance to forgetfulness, which obscures us from remembering what we know.
“Writing is a form of resistance to forgetfulness, resistance to not allowing what we know and remember to pass away. It’s an important way and there is a kind of responsibility,” said Gurnah in his brief keynote address.
Expanding the canvas, he said it is also a resistance to distractions to having our mind taken away from what we need to be focusing on. Similarly, he said, “Its resistance to neglect, to be sure that things we care for, and important are not neglected and distorted by other narratives. Above all, it is about upholding those beliefs and ideas which we value.”
“This was a responsibility that all writers had. In that sense, this was not perforce fighting tyrants or mobilizing people, but was a responsibility to keeping things alive,” he added.
The inaugural ceremony of the 16th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival began with speeches from acclaimed personalities, including author William Dalrymple, Namita Gokhale and
Highlighting new trends of the annual literary jamboree, producer of the festival Sanjoy Roy said that with over 80% attendees under the age of 25 in 2020, the event has found a niche among India’s young. “The festival has tried to take into account the future of this young demographic by attempting to go carbon neutral. Similarly, we are committed to increasing the reach of the festival to students from economically weaker sections by livestreaming sessions,” added Roy.
JLF has partnered Pratham Books and as part of the tieup, they will set up libraries in across 50 schools for the economically-weak.
Author Namita Gokhale spoke at length about the diverse languages that the festival has come to represent over the years.
She said, “There will be speakers from over 20 Indian languages and 14 international languages, making this an event that represents the diversity of its attendees.”
Giving a brief about the speakers, William Dalrymple said this edition of JLF includes winners of the most coveted literary awards from around the world such as Abdulrazak Gurnah and the Man Booker prize-winning duo Geetanjali Shree and Daisy Rockwell, among others.
The Tanzanian-born British author of novels like Paradise, Desertion and By the Sea among others spoke about writing as a form of resistance by attempting to gauge what it was in resistance to. He said that it is resistance to forgetfulness, which obscures us from remembering what we know.
“Writing is a form of resistance to forgetfulness, resistance to not allowing what we know and remember to pass away. It’s an important way and there is a kind of responsibility,” said Gurnah in his brief keynote address.
Expanding the canvas, he said it is also a resistance to distractions to having our mind taken away from what we need to be focusing on. Similarly, he said, “Its resistance to neglect, to be sure that things we care for, and important are not neglected and distorted by other narratives. Above all, it is about upholding those beliefs and ideas which we value.”
“This was a responsibility that all writers had. In that sense, this was not perforce fighting tyrants or mobilizing people, but was a responsibility to keeping things alive,” he added.
The inaugural ceremony of the 16th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival began with speeches from acclaimed personalities, including author William Dalrymple, Namita Gokhale and
Highlighting new trends of the annual literary jamboree, producer of the festival Sanjoy Roy said that with over 80% attendees under the age of 25 in 2020, the event has found a niche among India’s young. “The festival has tried to take into account the future of this young demographic by attempting to go carbon neutral. Similarly, we are committed to increasing the reach of the festival to students from economically weaker sections by livestreaming sessions,” added Roy.
JLF has partnered Pratham Books and as part of the tieup, they will set up libraries in across 50 schools for the economically-weak.
Author Namita Gokhale spoke at length about the diverse languages that the festival has come to represent over the years.
She said, “There will be speakers from over 20 Indian languages and 14 international languages, making this an event that represents the diversity of its attendees.”
Giving a brief about the speakers, William Dalrymple said this edition of JLF includes winners of the most coveted literary awards from around the world such as Abdulrazak Gurnah and the Man Booker prize-winning duo Geetanjali Shree and Daisy Rockwell, among others.
