Tag: Naipaul

By: Kenton Smith

HAS Nobel Prize-winner V.S. Naipaul thrown in the towel?

In the space of one week, the veteran British-based writer told The Independent that he “would write one more book and then stop,” then pulled out of the European Writers’ Parliament in Istanbul after Turkish writers threatened to boycott the event because of his past criticism of Islam.

The writers cited comments Naipaul made about the religion the same year of his Nobel Prize win, in 2001.

Naipaul compared Islam to colonialism, saying the religion “has had a calamitous effect on converted peoples. To be converted you have to destroy your past, destroy your history.”

Naipaul, a Trinidadian of Indian descent, is the author of such acclaimed novels as A House for Mr. Biswas and the Booker Prize-winning In a Free State.

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Canadian literary philanthropist Scott Griffin is taking poetry on the road.

Griffin announced the new Poetry in Voice project, a bilingual recitation contest that will award thousands of dollars to students and school libraries. A pilot program at a dozen Ontario high schools is planned to expand to the rest of Canada.

Competing students will be judged according to physical presence, voice and articulation, accuracy and dramatization. Finalists will face off in the spring.

Griffin is founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize, the world’s largest prize for a first edition single collection of poetry written in English.

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CBC Radio host Grant Lawrence will appear in Winnipeg Sunday to promote his debut book, Adventures In Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound.

Lawrence will provide a reading, slideshow and signing at McNally Robinson at 2 p.m.

Lawrence is host of the CBC Radio 3 Podcast and has guest-hosted numerous other radio shows and music festivals. The book describes how B.C.’s Desolation Sound shaped his life in music, and the country’s history.

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The University of California Press has had its biggest success in 60 years with the Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1, an official with the publisher has told the New York Times.

The first print run was for 50,000 copies; the book has now gone back to press six times, for a total print run of 275,000 to date.

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For local scribes with too many distractions at home, the Manitoba Writers’ Guild has two writing studios for lease; the first is available starting Dec. 1, 2010, the other starting Jan. 1.

The studios in the Artspace building at 100 Arthur St. rent for $100 a month and are available for either a six-month or one-year lease to MWG members.

Interested parties should contact the guild at [email protected] or 944-8013.

[email protected]

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 27, 2010 H8

via PAPER CHASE: V.S. Naipaul says he’ll stop after one more book – Winnipeg Free Press.

V.S. Naipaul has been forced to pull out of a major literary conference in Turkey after protests over his views on Islam.

The Nobel laureate was invited to give the opening speech at the European Writers’ Parliament (EWP) in Istanbul, but several Turkish writers threatened to boycott the event because of his critical comments about Islam, which he likened to colonialism, in a speech here 10 years ago, saying that it “has had a calamitous effect on converted peoples.”

The organisers said he had withdrawn by “mutual agreement” following “politicisation” of the event.

“The politicisation of the conference in the Turkish media in regards to Sir V.S. Naipaul’s participation has altered the original conception of the event and his contribution to it as a celebrated author,” the EWP said in a statement.

British- Indian novelist Hari Kunzru, who gave the opening speech instead, regretted the row.

“I feel we would be stronger and more credible if we were to deal with divergent views within this meeting rather than a priori excluding someone because of fear that offence might be given,” he said.

Ahmet Kot, Literary Director of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency, which is hosting the conference, expressed his disappointment over the row.

“I was expecting to get positive reactions for bringing together people with different views. I still think that we are right and some writers will support us,” he said.

The idea behind the EWP, an initiative of Turkish and Portuguese Nobel laureates Orhan Pamuk and José Saramago, is to encourage debate on contemporary issues that have relevance to literature.

The Guardian, quoting Turkish media reports, said the row erupted after poet and philosopher Hilmi Yavuz described the invitation to Sir Vidia as “disrespectful,” saying he had insulted Islam in the past.

via The Hindu : News / National : Naipaul pulls out of Turkey meet.

Nobel laureate author V. S. Naipaul has been forced to pull out of a major literary event in Turkey after conservative Muslims in the country took objection to his criticisms of Islam.

V S Naipaul, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001 Photo: AFP

By Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent 5:36PM GMT 25 Nov 2010

Naipaul had been due to give the opening address at the European Writers’ Parliament, a gathering of prominent authors who are meeting in Istanbul to discuss the future of literature.

But he made what was described as “a mutual decision”, taken with the conference’s organisers, to withdraw at the last moment following a concerted campaign against him in Turkey’s religious press.

A number of Turkish writers had threatened not to attend the event in protest at Naipaul’s portrayal of Islam in two of his 30 books as a religion that sought to enslave and eliminate other cultures.

Calls for a boycott were led by Hilmi Yavuz, a columnist for the Zaman newspaper, who wrote: “How can our writers bear to sit by the same table with Naipul, who has seen Muslims worthy of so many insults?”

Born in Trinidad of Indian ancestry, Naipaul, 78, has condemned the manner in which Islam established itself in the non-Arab world.

Converts in countries such as Iran and Indonesia had been forced “to strip themselves of their past” in order to submit to the Muslim faith, he wrote.

“It is the most uncompromising kind of imperialism,” he wrote in Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples.

Naipaul has also courted controversy by attacking Pakistan while voicing support for the Indian nationalist party the BJP and other right-wing Hindu parties. Most notably he defended the destruction in 1992 of a mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, by a mob of BJP supporters as an act of “historical balancing” – even though nearly 2,000 Muslims were killed in the ensuing riots.

The campaign to keep Naipaul out of Turkey threatens to tarnish Istanbul’s credentials as this year’s “European Capital of Culture” and other writers at the conference insisted that he had the right to be heard.

“I feel that we would be stronger and more credible if we were to deal with divergent views within this meeting rather than excluding someone because of fear that offence might be given,” Hari Kunzru, the British novelist, told delegates as the event got under way.

via V. S. Naipaul pulls out of Turkey conference after protests – Telegraph.

By AYLA ALBAYRAK

ISTANBUL—Nobel Prize-winning author Sir V.S. Naipaul has pulled out of a writers’ conference in Istanbul that starts Thursday, pressured by religious conservative media in Turkey that objected to statements he has made on Islam.

The move sparked two Turkish authors to pull out of the event, its organizers said Wednesday.

Mr. Naipaul, author of some 30 books, had been due to give the opening speech at the European Parliament of Writers, a literary event organized here to mark Istanbul’s status as a European Capital of Culture this year.

For the past week, however, religious conservative Turkish newspapers, including Yeni Safak and Zaman, have been campaigning against the decision to honor Mr. Naipaul, a 78-year-old Trinidadian of Indian origin. While some Turkish authors supported his right to attend the conference, defending him on grounds of free speech, others said they would boycott the event if he attended.

“How can our writers bear to sit by the same table with Naipaul, who has seen Muslims worthy of so many insults?” wrote poet and Zaman columnist Hilmi Yavuz, who initiated the planned boycott last week and described Mr. Naipaul as “an enemy of Islam” and “a colonialist.”

The uproar over Mr. Naipaul’s participation exposed the continued sensitivity of religion in modern, officially secular Turkey, even as it seeks to join the European Union. Free speech also remains fragile, with hundreds of journalists facing trial over their articles and thousands of websites banned under a 2007 law.

“In these days when it is often said how we are opening up to the world, this case showed how closed we still are,” liberal journalist Ece Temelkuran wrote in Haber Turk newspaper.

Mr. Naipaul, through his agency, declined to comment. A statement by the agency confirmed that the writer had decided not to attend due to the strong Turkish reactions, a decision it said was made Tuesday by Mr. Naipaul and the event’s organizers.

“The politicization of the conference in the Turkish media in regards to Sir V.S. Naipaul’s participation has altered the original conception of the event and [his] contribution to it as a celebrated author,” the statement said.

“We feel disturbed about how things came to this point and how meaningless [the debate] has been,” said Ahmet Kot, literary director of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency.

The organizers said that by Wednesday evening in Istanbul, Turkish writers Murat Uyurkulak and Cem Akas, the latter of whom was scheduled to moderate a panel discussion, had withdrawn to protest the cancellation of Mr. Naipaul’s visit.

Mr. Akas couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Mr. Uyurkulak said in a telephone interview he made his decision in support of freedom of expression.

“I am not a fan of Naipaul. I don’t really like him. But I don’t want to take part in a literary event where somebody is being boycotted because of what he says,” Mr. Uyurkulak said. “If we cannot host someone who represent opposing views as he pleases, if we cannot listen to them, we have a problem.”

The organizers added that all foreign writers were already en route or already in Istanbul, and that none had so far canceled appearances.

Mr. Naipaul’s views on Islam, including those in 1981’s nonfiction “Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey” and the 1998 “Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples,” have sparked anger in the Muslim world. Opponents of his visit to Turkey have cited several of his books as offensive and objected to his characterization of Islam as “imperialist.”

Islam “has had a calamitous effect on converted people,” Mr. Naipaul said in 2001 after a book reading in London. “To be converted you have to destroy your past, destroy your history. You have to stamp on it, you have to say, ‘my ancestral culture does not exist—it doesn’t matter.’”

The European Writer’s Parliament was conceived by Turkey’s sole winner of a Nobel Prize for literature, novelist Orhan Pamuk, together with Jose Samarago, the Portuguese Nobel winner, who died in June. The event aims to bring together around 100 writers from around Europe.

Jason Goodwin, author of “The Janissary Tree,” had just arrived in his hotel in Istanbul on Wednesday when he heard word of Mr. Naipaul’s cancellation.

“I can understand why Turkish writers might be upset” by Mr. Naipaul being an honorary guest, Mr. Goodwin, who has written about the Ottoman empire, said in a telephone interview. “My impression is that he also doesn’t know Islam as deeply he should. Personally, I would have wanted to hear Mr. Naipaul speak as he would have been an interesting voice, an interesting person.”

Mr. Goodwin also said he understood Mr. Naipaul’s decision. “We are all here as guests,” he said. “And who wants to be an awkward guest?”

via Naipaul, Turkish Authors Pull Out of Istanbul Writers’ Conference – WSJ.com.

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Sir Vidiadhar Suraiprasad Naipaul. AP photo

Well-known Indian-British writer Sir Vidiadhar Suraiprasad Naipaul’s invitation to speak at an Istanbul literary event has prompted controversy due to the author’s critical statements about Islam.

A number of Turkish writers invited to the European Writers Parliament have announced they will boycott the event in protest of Naipaul’s participation.

“The invitation [to Naipaul] should be canceled and the reason should be explained to him,” said writer Rasim Özdenören. Leftist writer Cezmi Ersöz said Naipaul’s invitation to the event was an insult to Muslims.

Daily Zaman writer Hilmi Yavuz was the first to withdraw his name, followed by Cihan Aktaş of daily Milli Gazete and Beşir Ayvazoğlu of Yeni Şafak.

“Islam has had a calamitous effect on converted peoples,” Naipaul, a Nobel laureate, said in 2001. “To be converted you have to destroy your past, destroy your history. You have to stamp on it, you have to say, ‘My ancestral culture does not exist, it does not matter.’”

Responding to the controversy, Ahmet Kot, the literary director of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency made an announcement and said Naipaul was invited not as the event’s guest of honor but to deliver its opening speech.

“I was expecting to get positive reactions for bringing together people with different views,” Kot said. “I still think that we are right and some writers will support us.”

The literary event will run from Thursday until Saturday.

A similar controversy occurred during this year’s Golden Orange Film Festival in Antalya, when world-famous Bosnia-Serbian director Emir Kusturica, who had been invited to participate in the festival as a jury member, withdrew from the event following protests in Turkey. The protesters claimed some of the director’s earlier comments supported war criminals during the Bosnian War in 1995.