Hanaan as-Sjaikh
(Lebanon, 1945) is one of the most acclaimed writers in the contemporary Arab World. She is the author of seven novels, including The Story of Zahra, Women of Sand & Myrrh, Beirut Blues, Only in London, a collection of stories: I Sweep the Sun off Rooftops, and her much praised memoir of her mother's life The Locust and the Bird. She has written two plays, Dark Afternoon Tea and Paper Husband. Most recently she published One Thousand and One Nights, an adaptation and re-imagining of some of the stories from the legendary Alf Layla Wa Layla - the Arabian Nights, commissioned by the director Tim Supple for the theatre, and performed in Toronto and Edinburgh in 2011. Her work has been translated into twenty-eight languages. Hanan al-Shaykh lives in London.
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Archive available for: Hanaan as-Sjaikh
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Winternachten Lecture by Hanan Al-Shaykh
With: Hanaan as-Sjaikh, Jet Bussemaker, Mohammed Hanif, Ngwatilo Mawiyoo, Peter Buwalda, Petra Stienen
Shame in the Arab world. Shame as part of culture and literature. On this subject Lebanese writer Hanan al-Shaykh wrote an opening lecture on the invitation of the festival. Hanan al-Shaykh is regarded one of the most important Arabic woman writers. After her lectuer Ms al-Shaykh will be interviewed by Arabist Petra Stienen, and will discuss the lecture with the Dutch writer Peter Buwalda (Bonita Avenue) and the Pakistani author Mohamed Hanif. But first there is the offical opening of the festival by the Dutch minister for Education, Culture and Science, mrs Jet Bussemaker.
'Our lives were always permeated by shame, without it ever being discussed. Shame was part and parcel of our lives like the colour of our eyes or hair, whether that shame stemmed from our personal lives or the fact that we Arabs had made such a deep fall from historic glory to domination.' In Kamila, the Story of My Mother Hanan al-Shaykh writes about her mother's courage in the face of religious pressures, the family and tradition. Her mother chose for herself and left her husband and children in order to go and live with the love of her life. To her amazement she was swamped with criticism owing to the candidness with which she had written on her grandparents' poverty and illiteracy.Kenyan poet and singer Ngwatilo Mawiyoo provides the musical opening, accompanied by musicians Serigne Gueye and Mark Tuinstra. In English.
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Forget it!
Writers commenting on the black pages in their country's history. How to deal with the painful questions of the past. Is it the task of writers to investigate them? And if so, are they doing a good job? Isn't forgetting and starting again with a clean slate more effective in order to get ahead? Hanaan as-Sjaykh wrote about the civil war in Lebanon, Alberto Manguel did the same about the dirty war in Argentina while Hans Goedkoop in his book De laatste man (The Last Man) sheds a new light on the Dutch East Indies of the police actions in the late 1940s. David Van Reybrouck talks to them. Musical intermezzo by Kenyan musician Ngwatilo Mawuyoo accompanied by Serigne Gueye and Mark Tuinstra. In English.
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The Future of the Arab Novel
With: Fouad Laroui, Hanaan as-Sjaikh, May Telmissany, Tayeb Salih
Four Arabian writers discussed the future of the Arabic novel. Tayeb Salih (London, moderator), May Telmissany (Cairo), Fouad Laroui (Amsterdam) and Hanaan as-Sjaikh (London) discussed subjects like globalisation and the Arabic novel in postmodern times. The discussion was in Arabic. The non-Arabic audience could hear a simultaneious translation into Dutch via headphones.
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Arab writers coming closer
Arabic novels are being read more and more in The Netherlands.. Winternachten brought together four Arabic writers in a conversation with Michaël Zeeman. Hanaan as-Sjaikh grew up in Lebanon and now lives in London. De Moroccan Fouad Laroui studied in Paris and now lives in Amsterdam. Shortly before the festival his very well reviewed novel ' Kijk uit voor parachutisten' was published. Tayeb Salih (Sudan, 1926), is one of the leading Sudanese writers and an authority on Arabic literature. English spoken.
