From JLF2023: Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah says resistance is pretty ordinary in writing

Just a couple of days back, the world looked like this. 

In a corner of a jam-packed tube in London, a reader is all engrossed in the pages of science fiction. An author in Brooklyn is on the verge of completing the last chapter thrilled at the prospect of giving away the ending to the reader. A girl in Iran, who loves to escape, time and again, into the colours of freedom, seeks comfort in the stoicism of Greek mythology. 
Today, on a nippy January morning, these readers and writers, from diverse communities, and places that dot the world map, were herded into the front lawn of the Hotel Clarks Amer. The murmurs stopped as Tanzanian-born British novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah rose to deliver his keynote address on the 16th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival. Gurnah who writes assiduously about the effects of colonialism, refugee displacement, and disruption, chose to speak on resistance and writing at the JLF2023.

All of us who had arrived to become a part of this day were expecting him to fill the surroundings with a moving speech on how resistance has so much to do with writing and shaping ideologies. Everyone seated there, or standing, was going to be surprised. 

He set his foot on the dice with half a grin on his face. He looked at us for a moment and said, “I know, all you are thinking is that I will talk about how resistance is noble, how brave it is to resist things, and how all writers must be resisting to make for the finest of writers.” 

And to everyone’s surprise, he dropped the bomb: “Resistance is pretty ordinary in writing.”

Ordinary? Like something you stumble upon just on your way to a cafe or a bookstore? Like something as ordinary as a sun setting everyday? Or ordinary in a way that it doesn’t matter? All such questions were running through our minds, until he said, “I am here to remind you that writing in itself is a form of resistance.”

But resistance to what? 

Gurnah then said, “Resistance is an ordinary aspect of writing, as I said before. It is also just about working and writing, rather than being inspired or having some epiphany.” When you write about the darkest of things, things that some people forget, and others cannot, then writing is a resistance to forgetfulness, he said. When time and again, weaker sections and marginalised communities, and refugees are neglected, then writing is resistance to neglect. Resistance for upholding ideals, beliefs, and values is important, he said. He concluded his thoughts with a moving statement. “Well, I really don’t have much to say, but writing is a resistance to making sure that what is important, is kept alive, always.”

The JLF2023 kicks off today in Jaipur, the capital of the desert state of Rajasthan, India. With a stellar line-up of 400 speakers and a dedicated music stage in the evening, the event, which was once billed as the greatest literary show on earth, is expected to be as entertaining and promising over the next five days.