MOHAMMAD Elwan, 61, was born in Abha in the southwest of Saudi Arabia. On graduation, he joined the Ministry of Information and worked there until his retirement. He is married, with three daughters and two sons. Elwan has penned three sets of short novels and a series of articles. He is a founding member of Asir Press and Publication Organization. Over the years, off and on, he oversaw the cultural pages of Al-Riyadh Arabic newspaper and Al-Yamama Arabic magazine. He is an active participant in novel-discussion evenings at the Culture and Art Society and other literary clubs. Following is an interview conducted by Asmaa Al-Abboudi with Elwan.Q: How did life in the village influence you as a human being and novelist? A: To this day, my village still has a hold over me for many reasons. It's from my love for the fig trees and fruits filling the valleys, the endless singing of the villagers in good times and bad. It's a place of frankness, action and reality that's now seeping through our fingers, migrating from within the eye, leaving the heart and being devoured by the merciless monster of the city. Strangely, the aroma, color and taste of the village is still vivid in my memory, possibly from the descriptions of and interactions with the village and its people in some of my novels. The influence of the village on my novels is an earnest attempt to relay the breath of the village; its dwellers, their happy and sad moments, love and hatred. The dwellers are the leading characters in my novel. Q: The beginnings of a novelist reflect his life, his personal experiences and his assumption of other roles. In which of your novels did you play this part? A: There is no particular novel representing me because our daily, weekly and monthly lives are stories that embody reality, and real creativity lies in the ability to capture and communicate them to the readers with the same warmth and tension accompanying the moment of writing. The novel, “the Call”, may be a true reactive emotion to death, which is the only truth in this world. Q: Was the south, which is the area with the highest density of population, its wealthy and artistic culture with all its paradoxes and transformations, part of the material of your novels? A: Naturally, it is the main component of my novels. It is this wonderful world with its mountains, valleys and trees, its never ending hymns to the fishermen, the boats and the dark-skinned faces – it is the scenes of the mountains, the sea, the valleys, the people and their life stories. Q: How did you take to literature and culture? My father was passionately fond of culture and writing and our homes in Abha and Riyadh are full of books, pens and papers. Q: Some believe that Arab novel writing, clashing with modernism, has not reached the apex of its maturity. What do you think? A: Modernism as a term has taken on a different meaning in the minds of readers and has acquired religious and political connotations, which detached it from the purely literary meaning. As I understand it and as I am trying to pen it, a novel is a mixture of new arts and the creation of new ambience. A friend to whom I spoke once about a number of talented authors said that they are one of a kind. I said: This is natural because if one replicates what others have produced, one becomes a botched replica. The positive thing is for one to be different, with one's own rhythm, madness and addition to the world of art and culture. Q: Many still believe that most literary and artistic products fall far short of the ambitions of our times. A: We are naturally speaking about the Arab World in general, and we (Arabs) represent the least percentage since literature, intellect and culture only thrive in times of stability. Anarchy, wars and economic pressures may produce literature or cultural acts but they do not represent the times. By any measure, we are not producing literature and art under circumstances where fingers of blame are pointed at literary or artistic accomplishments – either by banning or accusation of crossing the red line. An author can only produce if he has the freedom but this freedom must be responsible and conscious at the same time.Q: Historically, we have gone through junctions of defeats and disappointments. How did this stage influence creativity and literature in general? A: We are now going through junctions of defeats and disappointments because – thank God – we are now perfecting the art of lying so genuinely that honest people are now ridiculed. If we look at the daily papers in the Arab World, we will find an amazing amount of contradictions – however, columnists, editors-in-chief and ministers persist in their lying and hypocrisy. If we were honest with ourselves, for once, the course of history would be altered. The Holy Qur'an says that God Almighty does not change people unless they are willing to change themselves, and within each one of us, there is truth, purity, lying and hypocrisy. So why should we opt for the lowly attitude? Q: Short novels are still in the bottleneck stage. What seems to be the problem? A: The real problem is that, in our country, we have fallen behind in keeping abreast of honest and sincere criticism… and the fact that poetry written in the formal Arabic is at the forefront. Very few have criticized short novels despite the existence of many short novelists. I am reluctant to mention their names because we are extremely sensitive to these names. There is also the flashy television poetry, which brought us back to the glory of tribes and to self-enclosed endeavors. This poetry, with the exception of rare cases, is nothing but a bubble – while short novels are read and readers react to them with genuine intimacy, without this visual influence and overpowering, direct discourse. In my view, this is the only reason why novelist evenings have failed. I had proposed that these endeavors be in the form of special encounters between those interested in this art or between those who appreciate reading novels. Q: How can Saudi novelists reach the stature of international novelists? And what do they need? A: Translation, which is based on art, is the first stage to reach internationalism. Translation is a self-standing art and a translator must capture the moment. In other words, he should not translate words and letters literally but should breathe life into them. I believe that honest translation is an art capable of communicating various branches of literature. Q: We miss the cultural atmosphere in our country and we do not applaud culture as we should. Where does the fault lie? A: Up until this moment, many of those working in the cultural field imagine that culture means jobs, competitions, salaries, allowances and travel. For a long time now, we have been chasing after this culture and were at a loss as to where to place it or how to classify it. Culture has become a prisoner of the job and it must be freed. I believe that it is up to universities to do that, away from this lot of employees who are far removed from understanding what culture is about. Q: Why did Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain take away from us our presence and prominence on the cultural front? A: Simply, they are not extra sensitive to texts or to writers, and this is something we are grappling with. In these countries, there is no stereotyping of the intellectuals or accusations against them. Q: When do you expect a world writer to visit us? A: A huge number of them have visited us. They have entered our homes and we came to know them, all without entry visas. We brought them back with us from our travels and they visited us through their intellect and mindset. In today's world of sophisticated technology, we receive everything in a matter of seconds and don't even need permission from anyone. The coming days will bring both novelty and excesses. Q: It is controversial for a censor to be creative and for a creative person to be a censor? What were your experiences like while playing these two roles? A: It was indeed a strange unusually controversial and humanitarian phase that I went through for a period, which is not long in one's lifetime. I will speak to you about my experience through which I was looking forward to playing a role, if only a small part, in this stubborn censorship body, because an educated person – or rather an employee who is aware of the role of culture and art in societal change and development – will understand this without stereotypical or preconceived interpretations. Despite the fact that many intellectuals pointed the fingers of accusation at me, I tried one way or another to be able to influence this area and to assist decision makers by providing the necessary details, which if provided by an educated person – not just an employee – will take matters to safety without eliminating or accusing others. This experience was not easy because one was always accused of siding naturally with the intellectuals and with artists. If the censorship authority was left to progress naturally and as dictated by technology, it would have reached a developed stage, but many parties interfere to deactivate the notion of awareness in censorship. I have long suffered in trying to achieve harmony between the decadent regulations – with which all those wishing to change for the best clash – and creativity. Q: Have any of your stories or articles been banned? A: My novels have never been banned but one of my articles was banned because it was described as too bold and too out of the norm. Q: How much longer will we have to buy the books of our prominent writers from abroad? A: I think that a number of officials are far-sighted enough to want us to travel so that we can buy these books. Q: Did you lose any battles? A: I don't like the word battles because life is more beautiful than being a battle between parties, and life will be meaningful if we live it for the sake of love and prosperity everywhere. Maybe the project I had in mind, particularly on the job, did not materialize, but this is no loss so long as we have time and the ability to write, note and participate. Q: Does our education system contribute to stimulating creativity? A: This was the case while I was in school in Abha and Riyadh but afterward education got kidnapped, I doubt that any creativity will be unleashed – not unless education is freed. Q: Do you plans to write novels? A: I am working on a novel project that's progressing at the speed of an old turtle. I believe that a novel must satisfy certain conditions and be compulsive, otherwise it would be blunted. I hope that my project will materialize soon. Q: Printing houses abroad are vying to publish novels that expose the Saudi society. What do you think? A: This is a business matter. As for these novels, I do not wish to read them. Literature and creativity are a world with its own conditions and values, even if prohibitions are discussed, and must have the necessary refinement before all else. Q: Saudi female novelists are starting to become popular of late. Is this the era of female novelists? A: Women have been taking part in everything for a long time now, and they have been kidnapped, as happened with education. It is not unusual for women to be writers or to draw, etc., because they enjoy all support. Q: The halal (permitted) and the haram (prohibited) – have they prevented the intellectuals from using their potential? A: This notion of halal and haram has delayed the thriving of intellectuals, particularly since we are a religious society. This accusation was leveled, and it is not true, but it will take time to convince people that what took place was not haram. The current enlightenment has contributed to this – however, the same notion persists and has stalled cultural projects. It has even amounted to threats in a past stage and this represents terror Q: How have women influenced your life? A: Women are everything in life. Q: Why do the same names represent us at all cultural events? A: Because participating in cultural events has become a profession and there are lists of a number of writers and intellectuals with contacts who do not bother their excellencies the employees. It could be that other parties control the selection of names, therefore, an official tries to avoid headaches and goes back to easily available and ready lists. Q: Following the merger of Culture and Information, which is going to win? A: Frankly, Information. Q: What do you think about the exchange of cultural weeks between countries? A: This is a wonderful idea but only if their full and humanitarian dimensions are accommodated. Q: What is your next project? A: I am planning to become a singer or a football player. – Al
