Abu Dhabi has been filled these days with congressmen visiting the book fair, a reference point in the Gulf countries and which aspires to be one day in the rest of the world. To this end, its director, Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji, confesses that he has “Frankfurt as a reference.” Aware of this, its highest representative, Juergen Boos, has traveled to the capital of the United Arab Emirates for another year and has told La Vanguardia that the program for this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse, the largest book fair in the world, will be “very political. It has to be. “We cannot ignore everything that is happening right now in the world.”
Boos advances that “they are working hard right now and discussing the possible panels and talks that are going to take place. Many of them focused on democracy.” He does not rule out that the meeting will once again be the focus of controversy, since “it is something that has been happening historically. It is normal. Something like this was already seen when China was the guest of honor or, years later, with Catalan literature it was the protagonist and the idea of ??nationalism was reflected on. A book fair is either political or it is not. When society becomes complicated, this is reflected in books and, shortly after, following logic, in its fairs.”
The last edition was a good example of this, as it took place days after the Hamas attack on Israel, on October 7. Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek stirred irritation at the opening ceremony with a speech that focused on a criticism of Israel’s policy: “I want to be clear, I condemn the Hamas attacks without mitigation and give Israel the right to defend itself.”
Zizek explored the origins of terror and said that, just as power corrupts, “persecution also corrupts victims.” Some words that provoked screams from the public, who accused the speaker of relativizing terrorism and comparing the Israeli Government with Hamas.
It was not the only controversy that caused headlines, as the presentation of the LiBeraturpreis award to the Palestinian author Adania Shibli was also postponed during the fair. The Litprom association, which promotes foreign authors in the German language and grants this award, announced that Shibli would not receive his as originally planned, which, in addition to protests, caused a boycott by several publishing groups and that countries. like Malaysia, decided not to attend the event, citing “the organizers’ pro-Israel attitude and open support for Israel.”
Boos now looks at these events with perspective, but is convinced that the organization “is likely” to act in the same way again, since “it was done for a security issue. We always think of Frankfurt as a safe port. But people come from 140 countries and they all contribute their stories. The strange thing would be if they didn’t collide at some point. And that’s fine, but we must guarantee the safety of everyone.”
The German publisher admits not knowing whether or not the award was finally awarded to Shibli some time after. “I would have to know what exactly is happening with Adania. They should have given it to her this spring, but it seems like it’s been difficult to communicate with her. In an article published on January 31 in Eldiario.es, the author of A Minor Detail (Hoja de Lata), explained her position after the cancellation: “I think that if Litprom still wants to award the prize to my novel, perhaps the postal mail is a good option. They can send it by certified mail, and I can have a small ceremony with the old postman who usually brings to my door any large package or shipment that needs a signature.” In that same text, she clarified that “it is false that my novel spreads violence against Israelis.”
Boos insists that the one in Frankfurt is not the only exhibition that becomes a thermometer of ideas. “It happens in all of them, in a more or less visible way. In London, in Paris and in smaller ones like Turin. Also in Abu Dhabi, although not everything can be seen with the naked eye. As I said, what happens to us pulsates in the books, and further proof is this year’s winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction”, popularly known as the Arab ‘Booker’, and awarded to Basim Khandaqji, an imprisoned Palestinian author. In Israel. It would make no sense to ignore what worries the world at all times,” he concludes.
