Arab book translations vital for our age: Expert

'Once translated, Arabic books will see a better distribution and wider readership.'

Arab authors must get their work translated to deliver the authentic image of the Middle East and beat stereotypes, opined literary experts.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the 10th Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, Palestinian poet and novelist Ibrahim Nasrallah said literature is the only bridge where people can express how they truly feel, away from the stereotypes portrayed in the media.
"Literature is the only human space that has to be delivered for us to relate to people, and people relate to us," said Nasrallah, whose acclaimed works include 2009's International Prize for Arabic Fiction nominated The Time of White Horses and 1985's Prairies of Fever (both translated to English).
He stressed on the importance of having Arabic works translated to other languages, and vice versa to portray the truth of the Arab causes to the world, and show the contributions, dreams and ambitions of the Arab individual.
Nasrallah, whose mostly Palestinian set novels gained him a local and international following, said literature doesn't only carry opinions of authors but is also a reflection of Arab reality.
"Arabic literature must focus on telling the world the regional causes like the Palestinian cause, or our freedom stories, our future, developments and ambitions as human beings," Nasrallah said.
"If these causes made it to the West, we will become more able to present a different picture than the one portrayed to serve the agenda of some countries hoping to erase parts of the Middle East under the excuse that we are a burden on the planet."
He noted that the Arab world has a lot of beautiful causes, not only stories of hardship to share with the world. "We should share with the world our art, poems and films that carry meaningful messages, the same way we receive the beautiful stories of the West," said Nasrallah whose latest work, Al Hob Shareer (Love is the Enemy), focuses solely on matters of the heart.
Isobel Abulhoul, the festival's director, said such festivals help Arabic works to be translated to other languages, most importantly, English. 
She said for Arab authors to get the right exposures, they must work towards translating their books into English given its globalism. "Once translated, Arabic books will see a better distribution and wider readership," said Abulhoul.
She noted the positive increase in numbers of Arab writers over the last few years. Big literary events, she said, are followed by a long chain where books sell better and are translated into different languages.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com
 

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Sherouk Zakaria

sherouk@khaleejtimes.com