Building Bridges, Not Walls – Arab Anglophone Diasporic Writers as Cultural Mediators

Challenging) Power ) in)the) Arab) W o r l d ) Arts, & Culture&and & Media & under & Duress & ! ! The Monographs of ResetDOC Aboubakr,)Alshaer,)Anajjar,)Fassatoui) Hali,)Hamadi,)Karoui,)Krichen,)Limbrick) Mrabet,)Pepe) edited ) by ) Federica ) Zoja ) The$Monographs$of$Reset$DOC$ ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! The$Monographs$of$Reset$DOC$is! an!editorial!series!published!by!Reset! Dialogues!on! Civilizations,!an!international!association!committed!to!promoting!dialogue,!intercultural! understanding,!the!rule!of!law!and!human!rights!in!various!contexts,!through!the!creation! and!dissemination!of!the!highest!quality!research!in!human!sciences.!Reset!DOC$does!so! by!bringing!together,!in!conferences!and!seminars,!networks!of!highly!esteemed!academics! and!promising!young!scholars!from!a!wide!variety!of!backgrounds,!disciplines,!institutions,! nationalities,!cultures,!and!religions.! ! ! The$Monographs$of$Reset$DOC$offer!a!broad!range!of!analyses!on!topical!political,!social!and! cultural!issues.!The!series!includes!articles!published!in!Reset!DOC’s!online!journal!and!orig-! inal!essays,!as!well!as!conferences!and!seminars!proceedings.!The!Monographs!of!Reset!DOC$ promote!new!insights!on!cultural!pluralism!and!international!affairs.! Challenging)Power) in)the)Arab)World) ) Edited&by& Federica)Zoja) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Drawn$from$the$proceedings$of$the$2021$Carthage$Seminars$ convened$by$ResetDOC$and$Beit$al-Hikma$ Pluralism)in)Arab)and)Muslim)Societies) June$30$th#–$July$1st,$2021$ Contents' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' The$Monographs$of$ResetDOC$ $ $ Publisher*Reset-Dialogues$on$Civilizations$ Via$Podgora$15,$20123$Milan$–$Italy$ ISBN$9788894186994$ $ Photocopies$are$allowed$for$personal$use,$provided$ that$they$do$not$exceed$a$maximum$of$15%$of$the$work$ and$that$due$remuneration$foreseen$by$art.$68$of$Italian$ copyright$law$1941/633$is$paid$to$SIAE.$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Translations*and*proof-reading* Prem$Olsen$ Graphics*Studio$Cerri$&$Associati$ with$Francesca$Ceccoli$ $ Milan$–$June$2022$ 9$$Introduction' Federica(Zoja( ( Part'I' Seeking'Space'for'Pluralism'and'Creativity' 17 $ New'Networks'for'Arab'film'and'video' Peter(Limbrick( 27$ The'Poetry'of'Mahmoud'Darwish'and'Adonis,' Between'Freedom'and'Duress' Atef(Alshaer( 37$The'Digital'Sphere'as'a'Site'of'Social'Activism' Randa(Aboubakr( 49$ The'Arab'Diaspora'in'Italy,'Between' Stereotypes'and'Literature' Shady(Hamadi( 57$The'Writer’s'Mirror'and'Veil.'Egyptian' Autofiction'from'Print'to'Digital' Teresa(Pepe( * * * 71 $ $ $ $ 79 $ $ $ $ 89 $ $ $ $ 105 $ $ $ $ $ $ 117 $ $ $ $ $ 125 $ $ $ $ $ $ 131 $ Part'II' Cultural'and'Political'Ferment'in'Tunisia' Tunisia:'Intellectual'Issues' of'the'Democratic'Transition' Zyed(ffrichen( Acculturation'of'Rights'and'Freedoms' in'the'Post-Revolutionary'Tunisia' Omar(Fassatoui( The'Alternative'Media'in'Tunisia:' Nawaat,'Inkyfada'&'Al'Qatiba' Abdel(Aziz(Hali( Tunisian'Theater'from'Dictatorship'to'Democracy' Moez(Mrabet( ( Appendix' Best'Papers'by'Carthage'2021'Young'Scholars' The'2011'Radical'Imagination'Through' the'Panopticon'of'Hip-Hop:'The'Promise' of'a'Better'Democracy'in'Tunisia' Amina(ffaroui( Building'Bridges,'Not'Walls'–'Arab'Anglophone' Diasporic'Writers'as'Cultural'Mediators' Nouh(Anajjar( ( ( Authors' Introduction' ' Federica(Zoja( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( What'you'are'about'to'read'is'a'varied'monograph,'rich'in' contributions'and'research'pieces'united'by'a'common'thread,' that'of'human'rights'(acquired'or'desired),'of'social'and'polit-' ical'commitment,'of'the'aspiration'to'justice,'and'a'longed-for' alignment'with'other'cultures.'The'volume'Challenging(Power( in(the(Arab(World(gathers'the'speeches'and'reflections'of'some' of'the'speakers'at'the'2021'Carthage'Seminars,'held'online'on' 30'June'and'1'July'2021.' Moving'on'the'path'of'political'and'cultural'pluralism'in'the' Arab'world,'taken'twenty'years'ago'by'Reset'Dialogues'on'Civili-' zations,'the'guests'of'the'two-day'event,'organised'together'with' Beit'el-Hikma'–'Tunisian'Academy'of'Sciences,'Letters'and'Arts,' explored'trends'in'the'arts,'media'and'cinema'of'Arab-Muslim' countries,'under'the'shared'conceptual'umbrella'of'“Current' Trends'in'the'Arts,'Culture'and'Media'Under'Duress.”' The'book'opens'with'a'piece'by'Peter'Limbrick,'a'Univer-' sity'of'California'lecturer'and'expert'in'Arab'cinema'(New( Networks(for(Arab(Film(and(Video).'His'is'a'journey'through' the'mechanisms'of'Middle'Eastern'film'production'and'distri-' bution.'Through'circumstantial'examples,'Limbrick' argues' that' the' changes' that' have' taken' place' over' the' last' two' decades'suggest'that'the'cinematic'landscape'in'the'MENA$ region'is'increasingly'opening'up'to'independent'alternatives' to'commercial'or'para-state'networks.'Mirroring'post-colo-' ' Appendix' ' Best&Papers&by&Carthage&2021& Young&Scholars& 124$Challenging$Power$in$the$Arab$World$ $ status'quo'by'evoking'the'force'of'imagination,'and'the'extent' to'which'its'role'plays'for'his'interest.'He'can'defy'the'possible' that'has'become'impossible'to'reach;'ironically,'this'alludes'to' the'fact'that'basic'rights'have'now'become'hard'to'access.'“I' draw'the'traits'of'my'present'‘’'is'a'powerful'declaration'of'the' radical.'If'reality'is'not'satisfying'enough,'it'can'be'recreated'in' order'to'be'transformed'for'what'is'hoped'for.'More'to'that,' “ ﯾﻨﺠﻠﻲ أن ﯾﺮﯾﺪ ﻻ ﻟﯿﻞ ظﻼ م ﻓﻲ ” ' (“in ' the ' darkness ' of ' a ' night ' isn’t ' fading 'away”)' is'a'poetic'allusion'to'poet'Abul'Qasim'Chebbi’s'verse' “ ﯾﻨﺠﻠﻲ أن ﻟﻠﯿﻞ ﻻﺑ ﺪ ”,'“The'night'must'fade’’.'In'other'words,'what 'brought'the' Revolution' after' the' oppressive' gloom,' has' not' been' achieved'yet.'To'these'declarations,'an'unwavering'stance' between'hope'and'reality,'Empire'portrays'the'political'scene' full'of'confusion'as'to'whom'and'to'which'discourse'the'people' can'believe'in'to'keep'going.'The'metaphor'of'a'puppet'show' in'which'the'state'controls'their'threads,'while'the'ordinary' citizens'are'still'being'manipulated.'Giving'voice'and'giving' hand'to'the'audience,'his'advice'is'to'reimagine'one’s'own'luck' and'get'one’s'mind'“boundless”'for'inspiration'and'realization' of'change.' ' ' Building'Bridges,'Not'Walls'–'Arab'Anglophone' Diasporic'Writers'as'Cultural'Mediators' Nouh(Anajjar( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ‘ffvery)culture)is)a)mixture’)(Jean-Luc)Nancy)) ‘No)culture)can)live)if)it)attempts)to)be)exclusive’) (Mahatma$Gandhi)$ $ Humanities'as'a'scholarly'field'have'constantly'been'criticized' for'not'being'entirely'practical'or'utilitarian'when'it'comes'to' advancing'society'and'finding'solutions'to'contemporary'prob-' lems.'Much'of'the'theorization'and'findings'remain'inherently' theoretical'and'descriptive'in'nature.'However,'humanities' nowadays'stand'out'not'only'as'a'fundamental'key'player'in' the'struggle'for'meaning'and'quest'for'cultural'diversity/differ-' ence,'but'more'importantly'as'an'ethicopolitical'exigency'in' search'for'communal'modes'of'existence'and'coexistence'espe-' cially'amid'the'culturally'and'religiously'motivated'violence,' and'the'Zeitgeist(of'cultural'paranoia'that'we'are'witnessing' today.'In'this'framework,'literature'as'an'artistic,'historical'and' discursive'document'and'as'a'creative'transformative'space' provides'the'means'for're-imagining'and'transforming'commu-' nities'and'therefore'the'world.'It'is'not'so'much'the'aesthetic' and'poetic'dimensions'of'literary'texts'that'matter'nowadays' but'rather'their'politics.'So,'the'question'that'poses'itself'nowa-' days'is'what'kind'of'ethics'we'can'build'now'and'what'kind'of' world(literature'forces'us'to'foresee.' 126$Challenging$Power$in$the$Arab$World$Nouh$Anajjar$127$ ! It'is'accurate' to'contend'that' literature'has' often'been' conceived'in'nationalistic'terms,'yet'there'is'now'more'than' ever'a'burgeoning'propensity'among'writers'to'consciously' transcend'the'nation'state’s'poetics'by'declining'to'parrot'the' retold'clichés'of'their'cultural'frame'of'reference'and'adopting' a'cosmopolitan'and'worldwide'imaginary.'In'his'article'The( Trend(of(Modern(Literature,(John'Bell'Henneman'rightly'states,' “At$the$beginning$of$the$new$century,$the$conspicuous$characteristic$ of$literature$is$its$striving$to$break$down$all$barriers$of$speech$and$race$ and$become$world$literature…The$cosmopolitan$is$at$home$every-$ where…Not$that$literature$may$not$be$located$anywhere$and$derive$ from$any$source;$however$seemingly$local$in$origin$and$provincial$in$ outward$aspect,$its$ultimate$appeal$must$be$the$wider$reaches$of$com-$ mon$humanity$and$that$of$truth$itself”.$ $ In' this' juncture,' Arab' Anglophone' Literature' of' migration' stands'out'as'a'promising'corpus'of'literature'that'is'transfor-' mative'and'transcendental'in'nature.'Historically'speaking,'the' upsurge'of'this'literature'stemmed'from'the'desire'to'know' about'the'Other'as'a'sort'of'reactionary'enterprise'among' Arab' writers' to' write' back' to' the' center/' metropolis' and' demystify'the'relationship'between'the'East'and'the'West,' along'with'topoi'of'nostalgia,'hybridity'and'identity'crisis.' Nevertheless,'most'of'the'critical'corpus'about'this'literature' capitalized'on'viewing'writers'and'their'narratives'via'dicho-' tomous'discourse'and'dialectical'polarities'and'therefore'has' been'trapped'within'the'lenses'of'the'‘Either-Or”'paradigm.' This'reductive'and'archetypal'practice'of'reading'and'rendi-' tion,'despite'its'appealing'critical'lure,'precludes'and'over-' looks'the'transcendental'ethos'of'Arab'Anglophone'Literature' as'an'expression'and'artistic'mirroring'up'of'a'more'intricate' experience'of'hyphenated'subjects'and'immigrants'and'as'a' counter-discourse'to'sweeping'dogmatism'and'all'sorts'of'ideo-' logical'fundamentalism'pushing'in'so'doing'the'boundaries'of' Arab'Anglophone'literature'beyond'anti-western'sentiments,' Eurocentric'hegemony,'parochial'engagements,'and'orientalist' legacies.'That'said,'Arab'Anglophone'writers,'writing'from'the' margins'and'situating'themselves'at'the'edge'of'many'cultures,' compellingly'voice'and'uncover'in'their'radically'transgressive' and'revolutionary'aesthetics'a'relentless'preoccupation'with' the'universal,'the'cosmopolitan,'and'ultimately'the'human.' Arab'Anglophone'diasporic'literature'or'Arab'literature' produced'beyond'the'home'is'a'miscellaneous'corpus'for'it'is' made'up'of'writings'from'authors'who'belong'to'different'Arab' countries'namely'Lebanon'and'Palestine.'All'of'them'hold'dual' citizenship,'some'live'in'Britain,'a'few'live'in'Australia'and'most' of'them'live'in'America.'Among'the'prominent'Arab'diasporic' writers'we'can'cite'Diana'Abu'Jabber,'Susan'Muaddi'Darraj,' Rawi'Hage,'Jarrar'Randa,'Rabih'Alameddin,'Laila'Halaby,'Joe' Geha,'Toni'Hanania,'Mona'Simpson'in'North'America,'Leila' Aboulela,' Toni' Hanania,' Fadia' Faqir,' Ahdaf' Soueif,' Jamal' Mahjoub,'Robin'Yassin'Kassab'in'Britain,'Abbas'El-Zein,'and' El'Hage'Jad'in'Australia'to'name'but'a'few.' By'writing'about'cultural'translation,'hybridity,'and'blur-' ring'binary'oppositions'–'say'West'/'East,'civilized'/'primitive,' rational'/'irrational…'–'these'writers'have'enunciated'their'posi-' tion'as'cultural'mediators'and'translators.'The'common'deno-' minator'between'their'narratives'is'the'effort'to'open'up'a'third' space'where'cosmopolitanism'and'cultural'pluralism'seem'to'be' the'only'eccentric'weapons'to'negotiate'and'interrogate'totali-' tarian'authorities,'common-sense'conceptions'of'identities,'and' communities'as'well'as'taken'for'granted'cultural'practices.' In' fact,' by' acting' as' cultural' mediators,' Arab' Anglo-' phone'writers'living'in'the'diaspora'propose'nothing'short'of' a'reconsideration'of'notions'of'identity'and'culture.'Remar-' kably'enough,'the'same'way'postmodernism'was'decisive'in' shaping'postcolonial'studies'as'a'process'of'questioning'power' relations'and'Western'ascendancy,'it'is'also'very'significant'in' 128$Challenging$Power$in$the$Arab$World$Nouh$Anajjar$129$ ! its'articulation'of'a'new'theory'of'identity'that'is'destabilized' by'processes'of'postmodernity,'globalization,'and'migration.' Gilles'Deleuze'and'Felix'Guattari’s'substantial'theorizations' about'identity'and'becoming'are'of'paramount'importance.' Their'popular'line'of'reasoning'revolves'around'their'aggre-' gate'denial'of'frozen'and'fixated'identities'and'their'celebra-' tion,'on'the'other'hand,'of'‘nomadic’'and'flexible'identities' that' “take' flight”' and' that' is' more' like' ‘rhizomes’' “always' folding,'unfolding,'refolding'“(A(Thousand(Plateau,'20).'For' Deleuze'and'Guattari,'identity'“is'always'in'motion,'it'is'always' a'coming-into-being,'a'never-ending'project'of'becoming'that' includes'being'what'we'are'already'and'becoming'what'we' might'be'in'the'future”'(Qtd.'in'Sutton'and'Jones'46).' Postmodernism'is'well-known'for'the'idea'of'the'fragmenta-' tion'of'the'self,'anxiety'and'they'are'potently'allied'with'hybridity ' and'cultural'translation.'“[O]ur'identity”'asserts'Rushdie,'“is'at' once'plural'and'partial'and'sometimes'we'feel'that'we'straddle' two'cultures''it'is'not'an'infertile'territory'for'the'writers'to' occupy.”(15)'Therefore,'Arab'Anglophone'writers'writing'about' hybridity,'cosmopolitanism,'and'humanism'as'processes'of' transformation'is'a'response'to'Rushdi’s'invitation'to'explore'the' problematics'of'identity'in'the'postmodern'landscape'and'mind-' scape'wherein'the'lack'of'stability,'fixity'and'displacement'are' increasingly'gaining'ground,'and'where'subjects'are'becoming' translatable'entities,'continually'liable'to'change;'wavering' between'being(and'becoming.'It'is'from'this'ambivalent'context' of'uncertainty'and'multiplicity'of'identities'as'well'as'the'trans-' national'character'of'contemporary'culture'that'Arab'Anglo-' phone'diasporic'writers'have'drawn'inspiration'to'tell'stories' of'characters'who'play'the'role'of'cultural'mediators'and'who' dwell'in'cosmopolitan'and'transnational'spaces.' A'last'significant'point'to'make'is'that'these'writers'are'them- ' selves'hybrid'writers.'Being'American/Jordanian,'Australian/' Lebanese,'British/Syrian,'these'writers'have'certainly'grasped' the'sensation'of'what'it'means'to'have'a'bi-cultural'identity'and' to'have'one’s'selfhood'fashioned'by'two'dissimilar'cultures'with' all'the'impediments'and'contradictions'that'ensue.'Further-' more,'with'the'hope'of'dramatizing'such'issues'and'envisaging' another'possible'community'and'identity,'these'authors'add' their'voices'to'the'mounting'yet'significant'corpus'of'minority' discourse.'This'latter'is'defined'by'Jan'Mohammed'and'Lloyd'as' a'theoretical'articulation'of'the'political'and'cultural'structures' that'connect'different'minority'cultures'in'their'subjugation'and' opposition'to'the'dominant'culture'(1990'ix).'Indeed,'as'minor' literature,'Anglophone'Arab'diasporic'literature,'despite'its' marginality,'is'highly'political,'communal,'and'enunciative.' Finally,'even'though'most'of'human'history'has'been'stained' by'violence,'colonialism,'civil'wars,'imperialism'there'is'now'a' global'propensity'towards'a'celebration'of'intercultural'dialogue' and'recognition'of'cultural'differences.'In'his'interesting'article' Is(the(Notion(of(Intercultural(Dialogue(a(western(concept?(Henk' Griffioen'maintains'that'the'west'has'witnessed'a'shift'in'its' perception'of'the'Other.'While'in'the'past'the'Other'was'a' mere'dialectical'construction'to'understand'the'self,'now'there' is'a'shift'towards'a'more'dialogical'understanding'of'the'other' and'towards'accepting'cultural'differences'which'are'essentially' irreducible'(1).'Griffioen'goes'on'to'argue'that'this'new'form' of'dialogical'dialogue'seeks'fundamentally'common'horizons' and'imagines'a'new'mode'of'human'possibility'and'coexistence' (3).'Arab'Anglophone'literature'in'the'diaspora'is'framed'within' this'line'of'thought'as'it'attempts'to'transcend'nationalism' and'bridge'cultural'differences'while'envisaging'what'Edward' Glissant'calls'a'‘poetic'of'relation’'and'‘Tout(monde’'paradigm,' meant'to'transcend'the'facile'assumptions'of'difference,'multi-' culturalism,'and'fossilized'categories.'