This week, we hear of a moving Palestinian work, written from Israeli prisons and recently awarded the prestigious International Prize for Arabic Fiction; newly translated short stories exploring the psychic and physical disturbances of pre- and post-handover Hong Kong; and events bringing literature to their communities in Kenya.
Ibrahim Fawzy, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Egypt
For the first time since its launch in 2007, the announcement of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) winning novel did not bring controversy, but rather warmed the hearts of those who read Palestinian prisoner Basim Khandaqji’s A Mask, the Color of the Sky (قناع بلون السماء).
Since the announcement on April 28, during the annual award ceremony in Abu Dhabi, UAE, I’ve pondered: has Khandaqji, who is serving three consecutive life sentences in an Israeli prison, realized the profound impact of his voice? Has he realized that the light he is seeking within the confines of his cell is now illuminating countless hearts? For two decades, Khandaqji has steadfastly honed his literary voice while incarcerated, as a form of resistance and a means to combat isolation. His only solace in the absence of nature’s beauty and freedom is the limitless expanse of his imagination. Khandaqji chose to walk on the fiery coals of writing, engaging in battles of resilience. Stubborn and preserving, he began his journey with literature by writing poetry (a natural start for a prisoner, as poetry is an act of freedom and a potent resistance to captivity), believing that the occupation can imprison his body, but not his free imagination or resistant literature.
Khandaqji’s family recounts the arduous journey he has undertaken, moving from one prison to another because of the arbitrary measures taken by the administration. Yet, despite these difficult and complicated circumstances, Khandaqji and his fellow prisoners managed to smuggle their literary works beyond the towering walls of their confinement, a testament to their unwavering commitment to their craft. The owner of his Lebanon-based publishing house, Dar al-Adab, shared in an interview that the novel was recorded on a pen-like device, and his brother, who accepted the prize on his behalf, was the one who painstakingly transcribed the text. Some might think that Khandaqji’s role as a writer ends only with the act of recording, but his family insists that they are keen on sending all the manuscripts to him so he can ensure that every word is in its proper place, that the events and characters haven’t been altered.
Basim Khandaqji’s winning of the IPAF is a tribute to all prisoners who have been tormented for writing.
Charlie Ng, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Hong Kong
Cha: An Asian Literary Journal has recently published some exclusive new translations of Hong Kong literature on its blog. Amongst the featured pieces is Wong Bik-wan’s “Nausea”, originally appearing in the collection Tenderness and Violence and translated into English by Vanessa Yee-kwan Wong. Inspired by Jean-Paul Sartre’s homonymous novel, Wong weaves a pathological love story against the background of post-war anti-imperialist activism, in which a sense of uncertainty—stemming from Hong Kong’s then impending return to China—pervaded the region. Centering around the past of psychiatrist Tsim Hak-ming, “Nausea” begins with his encounter of a patient named Chan, who is revealed to be in a relationship with Yip Sai-sai, the doctor’s Afro-Chinese foster sister. She was adopted after the tragic death of her own mother in a brutal rape and murder, and witnessing this event as a young girl left her with post-traumatic stress disorder, which manifested in uncontrollable nausea. The two meet when Hak-ming is a medical student and Sai-sai is a child, and from the beginning, he develops an intense desire for her. Though he represses it for many years, it eventually culminates in a gruesome sexual encounter. With disturbing vividity, Wong paints a portrait of the doctor’s own distorted psyche, no less problematic than that of Sai-sai, with both of them mirroring Hong Kong’s unsettling history.
Additionally, Lok Fung’s “The Charred City”, the eponymous tale from the author’s 2011 collection, has been translated into English by Chris Song. In contrast to the pre-handover anxiety in “Nausea”, “The Charred City” presents itself as a detective story, employing crime as a metaphor to reflect the mania and disorder in post-handover Hong Kong. The protagonist of the story is a private detective, tasked with investigating the disappearance of a female tenant who identifies herself as “Yuen Siu-dip”. Although a suicide note, signed off mysteriously by an “Althusser”, is discovered, no discovery of a body follows it. As the detective then delves into the email correspondence between “Althusser” and an unidentified recipient named “Derrida”, he finds that the personal depression expressed by “Althusser” deeply resonates with the sense of hopelessness invading Hong Kong. Meanwhile, his own life spirals into disarray when Yan, his girlfriend, disappears following a heated argument, ultimately revealing her involvement with another lover. Suggested by the namesakes in the emails, “The Charred City” traces the deconstruction of meaning in a postcolonial city that has found itself under another state’s domination.
In all, both “Nausea” and “The Charred City” portray powerful instances of emotional distress intertwining with the surrounding urban unrest and Hong Kong’s turbulent fate.
Wambua Muindi, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Kenya
On Saturday, April 27, Alliance Francaise hosted an event of Sonnets & Scenes by William Shakespeare at its Multimedia Library! Curated by Muthoni Maina, the author of The Leaves of May (2022), the event was a collaboration between Prose Books, Alliance Francaise Nairobi, Prevail Presents, and NuriaStore. Through its program, a packed audience got to experience live readings of Shakespeare’s sonnets in Urdu, Kamba, Sheng, Bukusu, Kikuyu, French, Swahili, and Japanese—among other languages. Inevitably, translation was a key aspect undergirding this multilingual nature. Moreover, the plays Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet were read and partly performed by the Prevail Presents troupe. In addition to outlining the wide range of possibilities created by translation, the evening also served to promote canonical classics; in a short pitch at the tail end of the event, the curator recommended: “If you can and will, pick a classic and read.”
Away from Nairobi, the vibrant Lolwe Books Kenya organized and hosted a Kenyan Readathon Quiz on May 4. Located at Alpha House in the bustling lakeside Kenyan city of Kisumu, the event was hosted by Lexa Lubanga, the initiator of the Kenyan Readathon, which is held annually in September. This year’s edition will take place on the road, and in the Quiz, Kisumu book lovers were treated to a Kenyan literature showdown. Part of the games involved participants gathering in teams of five and engaging in trivia to determine the winning team, who were given a selection of their favourite Kenyan books.
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