29 April 2009

Preview

BEIRUT: The city is about to go book-crazy. More than 200 events will take place here as part of Beirut's year as World Book Capital. This festival has been organized annually by UNESCO since 2001 to promote books and reading. The festivities officially began in Beirut on April 23, when culture minister Tammam Salam flew to Paris for the handover ceremony.

UNESCO selected the Lebanese capital to host the event after reviewing a proposal from the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Beirut. The Lebanese organizers have three hopes for the event.

One is that the book industry in Lebanon be bolstered, with a particular emphasis on youth literature. A panel of regional literary luminaries, including Alaa al-Aswani, Egyptian author of "The Yacoubian Building," will select the top 39 Beirut authors under 40 years of age. These will be promoted at festivals worldwide, including the UK's Hay Festival, where a series of events will be programmed around the Beirut 39 list.

"Schools, for their part, are rallying round the second objective, which aims at promoting reading and the taste for reading," says the festival website. A number of schools are taking part, including the Azzounieh School, where activities will include exercises in emulating the writing from selected texts of various authors.

Finally, organizers are hoping that the festival will enable Beirut to "adopt a diversified approach to culture." Seemingly, this will be accomplished by shipping in writers and publishers from overseas. Activities carried out under this banner include the Swiss Youth Literature Authors and Illustrators Fortnight, during which Swiss practitioners will meet with their Lebanese counterparts and visit schools in the region.

Outside these overarching themes, there are dozens of fringe events. Artist Jocelyn Saab is directing a film to be unveiled at the French Book Fair, with the working title "Beirut in Love with Books." The piece will focus on the role of the city in the lives and the memories of a series of characters, with a guest appearance from poet and cultural journalist Joumana Haddad.

A ten-day period of plays, art, music and dance will explore the texts of Jean Genet "through the eyes of Arabs," concentrating on the writer's dedication to the Palestinian cause and the Algerian resistance. Toufic al-Jabali will arrive from Tunisia to direct "The Palestinians," while Iraqi Jawad al-Asadi will take on "The Maids."

Anglo-Lebanese publishing house Dar al-Saqi is mounting several innovative events. They have chosen a selection of ten Beirut coffee shops, which will become "public libraries." Each cafe will have between 25 and 40 titles from Saqi - the Lina's coffee chain will have books at eight of its outlets. Books will have to remain in-store, but stimulant-drinkers will be able to peruse at their leisure over a macchiato.

"Reading should be for everyone," says Hannah Basmah of Dar al-Saqi. "We'll be publishing five or six of our Arabic titles in Braille for blind readers."

The third Saqi initiative is entitled "I Found a Book." Two hundred books will be scattered throughout the city - in restaurants, cafes, maybe even taxi-cabs. Attached to each will be a survey which the reader is requested to fill in before leaving the book in another location to be found by someone else, forming a dialogue between disparate citizens.

Finally, the publisher has invited writer Najla Barakat to lend a helping hand to those with a story to tell. "Some people have incredible stories but they do not have the skills to turn them into a narrative," says Basmah. "We will invite submissions in the Lebanese press, then the author will select suitable participants. She will run four workshops of nine days each throughout the year, with the best end-product being published and distributed by us."

For further details on the events surrounding Beirut's designation as World Book Capital, visit www.beirutworldbookcapital.com

Copyright The Daily Star 2009.