Quote of the Month - December 2015

Christmas is a time of cheers,

not a time of sorrows.

So have some fun, drink some beer,

and be at work tomorrow!

Christmas greetings to the volunteers, Kibbutz Hatzor-Ashdod (Israel), 1985

Great voices - Berlin III

Some time ago, my mother asked me how Berlin has been...that's when I realised that I was lagging behind with this blog. So much had happend in the meantime: I have not only been to Berlin in September but, at the same time, found and moved into "a room of my own" after 1,5 years of shifting between The Netherlands and Germany. So, for you, dear reader, I will look back on my stay in Berlin at the "Internationales Literaturfestival 2015" (ilb).

I had tickets bought to some very inspiring and notable authors. Let's start with Jenny Erpenbeck. Just in short as I had her already mentioned several times on this blog (see April & September 2015 & July 2012). Jenny introduced her latest book in German Gehen, ging, gegangen ('Go, went, gone'; not yet translated) in which she turns to the issue of immigrants, specifically in her book, situated in Berlin. I have started reading it while staying in Berlin which was alluring for I walked some places that are mentioned in the book which made it even more palpable.

Then there was Laksmi Pamuntjak with her latest book Amba / The Question of Red / Alle Farben Rot (transl.: Martina Heinschke) in which she interweaves historical incidents with an Indonesian mythology. I have seen her later again at the Writers Unlimited programme The Series in den Den Haag being interviewed on the subject of Indonesia during the times of 1965-66. I will write more on her in springtime as I will give a talk on her in Germany in March 2016.

As Indonesia had been guest of honour at the Buchmesse Frankfurt this year the Indonesian Embassy in Berlin held a book presentation dealing with the complex subject of the 30 September Movement. As I will have a talk on Laksmi I took the opportunity to gather all possible additional information around this subject. So I bought a ticket to Leila S. Chudori's presentation of her latest novel Pulang / Home. Whereas Laksmi is approaching the same subject from a mythical point of view Leila takes a journalistic approach. Still, both authors are brave enough to touch a taboo on Indonesian history. Interesting to me not only because of the talk I will give but also because Indonesia is still closely connected to The Netherlands. For those living in The Netherlands: Leila's book has just been published by De Geus: Naar huis (transl.: Henk Maier) and she will attend the Tong Tong Festival in Den Haag at the end of May 2016.

Writing about taboos...let's move on to Mona Eltahawy talking with Laurie Penny and Josephine Decker on feminism ('Zur Lage des Feminismus III'). Clearly a taboo mainly but not only in the Middle East which is Mona's main focus, but also in other parts of the world as Mona touched a sensitive point by questioning how far women in Germany/Europe receive equal wages.
Astonishingly, there had been many young people in the audience though obviously they had been more interested in Laurie's strong language. All three had a clear point in focusing on equal rights for women. Whereas Mona's work carries another dimension: she not only wages a conflict with men in general but specifically with Arab men and their 'hatred' against women. This might be used by other communities against Arab men for which she is made seen as a traitor by the Arab community itself. We've seen this happen also with Afro-American women activists. Luckily, there are more and more men around the globe realising that supporting women is improving general conditions therefore it is best to join forces.


And especially in these times of unrest it is important to join forces and become a caring community worldwide gathering, symbolically, under the vast dome of the universe. Domes had not only been physically very present in Berlin but also metaphorically in Elif Shafak's novel The Architect's Apprentice. Another novel presented at the ilb in which Elif dives into the Istanbul of Mimar Sinan, major Ottoman architect.
She focuses on the spirit of architecture, the imagery of building and destroying bridges and presenting the diversity and richness of former Istanbul. Another warm and wonderful novel by this extraordinary author and I was very happy to finally meet Elif in person after having given a talk on her at the international women's day in Germany this year. I had learned that Elif and Mona had a meeting at the ilb. I imagine that it must have been very inspiring to both of them.

And then there had been Kamila Shamsie, another striking author (see also June 2012). While I attended the reading on her latest book A God in Every Stone I decided to add her to my talk on modern Indian women writers in October in Germany. To get a better understanding of this ongoing twist between India and Pakistan it is certainly necessary to read both sides of the medal and Kamila is, next to being Pakistani, an exceptional author and I sincerely recommended her books to my German audience. I boldly compare her, though she is still young of age, to Salman Rushdie, especially in relation to her expansive approach in her books.


 I was very glad to have been to the ilb this summer and having been able to meet all these excellent female authors at one place. And - there was this excellent interviewer (in the picture next to Kamila): Gabriele von Arnim. To have all English interviews translated on the spot by the interviewer was sometimes very annoying (Germans still seem very reluctant to do an effort themselves). But Gabriele did such a great job by interrelating questions and translation that it didn't feel as time consuming as with others. An outstanding performance.

Now, I am looking forward to another year ahead full of new literary experiences. And the first ones are already in sight: January will again host the 'finest international literature festival' in Den Haag: Writers Unlimited 2016, just one week ahead to the Jaipur literature festival 2016. Make sure to buy your tickets to the Writers Unlimited before 15 December and profit from a considerable discount (klick here).

Seasonal greetings to you all!