Saturday, March 20, 2010
Azar Nafisi
Friday night's keynote was presented by Azar Nafisi, writer of (among other works), Reading Lolita in Tehran. Her talk has echoes of Chris Abani's as she reminded the audience that "great literature always turns the question to us and that the basis of literature is not us, it is always the other person." Telling us all that those who would state that there is no future in graduate studies in English, she declared "Tell them to go to hell" and that "Imaginative knowledge is a wa or relating to the world. . . it is like bread and water. . . literature gives you clean washed eyes. . . it is like Alice woming back from the Wonderland." She held the audience enthralled suggested that we all "find our own Mr. Darcy" and then energized us with her final, echoing call, "Readers of the World, Unite!" What a dynamp!
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Dr. April Kendra posted this on the Chapter Sponsor prompt, but I thought I'd re-post it here as well!
ReplyDeleteThis conference has been a wonderful experience! I was especially moved by Dr. Nafisi's presentation last night, and I encouraged everyone to read the American Library Association's Freedom to Read Statement: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/statementspols/ftrstatement/freedomreadstatement.cfm You can also access the Freedom to Read Statement by going to www.ala.org and then clicking on these buttons: 1) Issues & Advocacy, 2) Intellectual Freedom, 3) Censorship & First Amendment Issues, and 4) Freedom to Read.
Free people read freely!
Dr. April Kendra
University of North Texas
I loved hearing Dr. Nafisi speak. It was absolutely fantastic. She has a persona about her that truly won me over and made me want to read her writing.
ReplyDeleteBut I wondered about the standing ovation that she was given - I wondered during it why people were giving praise so excessively when she was merely telling us the truth about our own country. Is it that we didn't know that was said truth? Or was it because we felt similar and felt the need to identify with a published author that, thankfully (?), agreed with our pre-placed thoughts? Perhaps it is even the mere fact that not only is hindsight 20/20 but the point of view from the soil of another country is, too.
She spoke about the women in her country going to jail for wanting freedom. We've had our historial moments in this country where we've done the same in some way or another, for something or another; yet we restrict ourselves now of our own volition, giving up the foundation of our society (English) in exchange for idiocy while telling our students that they should place other subjects higher than the very foundational substance of civilization: speech, comprehension and understanding. Above all, what saddened me was that we can't even recognize an insult when it slaps us in the face.
She was telling us something about the US within her speech. She said that she isn't happy with this country - its ways and mindset, enough to become a citizen of it because it is now her home due to her emotional connection and related distress. She has the guts to say outwardly: 'there's something wrong with you. You are a country full of fools and I am not happy with this behavior." She said it point black, to our faces, perhaps with a good deal of euphemism, but it was the same statement, nevertheless.
I would like to know what others will do in response to that statement; but then again, I also wonder if anyone standing in the audience actually recognized the fact that it was being said - That they were praising someone for considering us a country of degenerates that takes advantage of what freedom we are given. Did you?