{"id":4732,"date":"2010-05-03T02:39:56","date_gmt":"2010-05-03T09:39:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=4732"},"modified":"2010-05-08T10:26:17","modified_gmt":"2010-05-08T17:26:17","slug":"2nd-international-writers-festival-2010-opens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=4732","title":{"rendered":"2nd International Writer’s Festival 2010 Opens"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The International Writer\u2019s Festival at Mishkenot Sha\u2019ananim Jerusalem opened last night in the presence of President Shimon Peres.<\/p>\n

The opening ceremonies were preceded by a press meeting with several of the participating writers. Uri Dromi, General Director of Mishkenot Sha\u2019ananim encouraged an unofficial, open, friendly dialogue, but in the first moments it seemed that the journalists were somewhat awed in the presence of the stellar group of writers assembled onstage. The conversation started with a question that most first time visitors to Israel can expect to hear: Did you have any hesitation before coming to Israel?<\/p>\n

Russell Banks (USA) did not hesitate to reply in the affirmative, explaining that he did \u201chesitate briefly\u201d due to questions raised by friends, due in part to his \u201cstated opposition to policies of the Israeli government.\u201d Banks explained that his decision to participate was based in part on the view that as someone who had opposed the policies of the Bush administration in the US, he feels it would have been \u201ccounterproductive if an Israeli writer refused to come to the US\u201d and with his presence hopes to \u201cexpress solidarity with those who oppose Israeli government policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The writers were all very warm and witty despite their jet lag. Asked about their first impressions, Paolo Giordano (Italy) replied, \u201cI\u2019ve just arrived. I cannot even give you clich\u00e9s.\u201d As for expectations, Siri Hustvedt (USA) commented that \u201cexpectations are a repetition of a known quantity\u201d and as this is her first experience in Jerusalem as a participant in the writer\u2019s festival, she has none. Hustvedt said that in these contexts the \u201cpotential dialogues are the best thing that happens\u201d there is often a \u201cphrase, sentence or idea that becomes a brain tattoo. This is what I hope to take.\u201d<\/p>\n

The writers were asked to comment on the transition from writing to speaking that is part of participating in festivals and conferences. Paul Auster (USA) said that such a question is \u201csignificant, because people become writers because they can\u2019t talk,\u201d yet assured the listeners that most writers can \u201cspeak adequately about things that concern them deeply.\u201d Lilliana Heker (Argentina) demonstrated her translation skills as well as improvisation, addressing the group in English, saying, \u201cWhen you write, you search your words. If you are a writer, you love words. In English, words don\u2019t come to me; I will be half of myself. Some writers speak as they write. I met Borges (Jorge Luis Borges, Argentina, 1899 \u2013 1986). When he spoke, he constructed phrases the same way as he wrote. He was perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giordano added that \u201cYou can feel intensity from a writer\u2026maybe in the way they don\u2019t say.\u201d Jamaica Kincaid (USA) joined the conversation, saying, \u201cA lot of people say that I write the way I speak. I don\u2019t think of it as different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked how he selected the authors to invite, Dromi had a ready answer: \u201cAlphabetically.\u201d As for the question of addressing \u201cbig themes,\u201d Midnight East likes Heker\u2019s reponse: \u201cI\u2019m not sure that big ideas always make good literature.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once everyone was comfortable, IBA (Israel Broadcasting Authority) culture correspondent Dana Herman asked the big question: \u201cElectronic books – are they a blessing or a curse?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have my Kindle with me,\u201d said Banks, \u201cI never leave home without it. I\u2019m not threatened by digitization. This is a moment in the history of story, and of course, content will be altered.\u201d Comparing the shift to other moments in history, such as the transition from wet clay and stylus to papyrus, Banks added that he expects a democratization of the process as well as loss of quality control.<\/p>\n

Nicole Krauss (USA) commented that she senses the disappearance of \u201cslowness, reflection, the opportunity to meditate on things,\u201d saying that the process of reading itself has been transformed. \u201cWhile reading Proust you can shop on Amazon and get those sneakers you wanted. What kind of focus does that allow? Will there still be readers for the kind of books we want to write?\u201d<\/p>\n

Auster, does not have a computer, relying instead on \u201ca fountain pen and an old typewriter\u201d yet said, \u201cI\u2019m for it [digital books].\u201d Yet he does not want to see \u201cwhat happened to the record industry happen to publishing, with writers becoming their own publishers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople talk about it as if it involves changing the instrument,\u201d said Jonathan Safran-Foer, \u201cbut it is changing the environment. It\u2019s like the difference between hearing a concert in a room like this or a shopping mall.\u201d Not surprisingly, Safran shares concerns similar to Krauss, expressing his fear that the \u201cspace of the [reading] experience will be invaded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniel Kehlmann (Germany) raised the specter of illegal downloading which has affected the music industry saying that digitization may ultimately \u201cprofoundly change what a writer is and how he can support himself.\u201d Kincaid agreed with his prediction saying, \u201cI\u2019m fearful I won\u2019t be able to wear my nice shoes (very nice, turquoise blue loafers \u2013 looked comfortable for walking too!), I won\u2019t be able to afford them.\u201d She recalled, \u201cI remember when I first started to write I had no idea I would make money at it.\u201d Kincaid addressed her fellow writers, \u201cHow many Corinthians read Paul? Practically none\u2026Pretend you\u2019re Paul.\u201d Auster replied with a smile, \u201cI don\u2019t have to pretend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Midnight East looks forward to further dialogue in the days to come. The spirit of intercultural exchange was also expressed in yesterday\u2019s naming of the Mishkenot Sha\u2019ananim Plaza in honor of the Spanish monarchs King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sophia, in the presence of the Spanish Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Alvaro Iranzo, Spanish Minister of Culture, Mrs. Angeles Gonzales Sind Reig and Spanish guest writer, Mr. Adolfo Garica Ortega.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The International Writer\u2019s Festival at Mishkenot Sha\u2019ananim Jerusalem opened last night in the presence of President Shimon Peres. The opening ceremonies were preceded by a press meeting with several of the participating writers. Uri Dromi, General Director of Mishkenot Sha\u2019ananim encouraged an unofficial, open, friendly dialogue, but in the first moments it seemed that the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4732\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}