Lahore Literary Festival kicks off

LAHORE:The 10th anniversary edition of the Lahore Literary Festival kicked off on Friday at Alhamra Arts Centre with a keynote address by Abdulrazak Gurnah, the 2021 Nobel Prize winner for Literature.

He started with how writers go about writing. “For a writer memory is a vital resource. I think of this idea of memory as hinterland. Modern, prosperous cities don’t need hinterland,” he said. He talked about migration, refugees and colonisation. “Recently, we have experienced panic in Europe. We had seen movement from Europe to North America in the 19th century but these were not refugees, they dispossessed non-European people of their rights.” He talked about the human obligation to help fellow beings, to extend help towards refugees, not watch self-interest. In short, he called for compassion.

Nayyar Ali Dada presented a momento to Gurnah. Alexandra Pringle, publisher, has traveled in from London. She said she started taking interest in literature from Pakistan after meeting Kamila Shamsie.

British Council has rolled out first-ever writing prize this year as literature remains most powerful tool to bring people together, the British Council representative said.

Rachel Cooper who is here from New York City, said, “This is creating cultural literacy. I have such great respect for the vision. This is truly a global festival—looking forward to it in May 2023 in New York.”

Zulfiqar Ali Zulfi, Executive Director Alhamra, said Razi Ahmed, the mastermind behind the LLF, is very organised and has worked tirelessly to make the festival a success. “We have learnt a lot from him,” he said. Razi Ahmed thanked Alhamra for providing the halls and his family that put in their best altruistically.

The festival annually celebrates, produces, and archives provocative dialogues and insights from some of the brightest minds of the 21st century. The three-day, free and open to public #LLF10 will feature acclaimed thinkers from home and abroad whose works and voices resonate across borders. Included among this year’s speakers are Abdulrazak Gurnah, Shehan Karunatilaka (2022 Booker Prize for The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida), Damon Galgut (2021 Booker Prize winner for The Promise), Mohsin Hamid (The Last White Man), Adania Shibli (Minor Detail), Ameena Hussein (The Moon in the Water), Diana Darke (The Ottomans: A Cultural Legacy), Syeda Saiyidain Hameed (Beautiful Country: Stories from another India), Siobhan Lambert-Hurley (Elusive Lives: Gender, Autobiography and the Self in South Asia), Louise Kennedy (Trespasses), Saba Karim Khan (Skyfall), Sabyn Javeri (Hijabistan). This commemorative edition will also feature performances, recitals, screenings, book signings, and an exhibition by modern artist Wardha Shabbir. LLF has requested festival-goers to wear surgical masks while attending sessions and adhere to recommended safety precautions at all times.

Organised as a nonprofit, LLF is the safe place for dangerous ideas, as Guardian put it. It has been acclaimed by the foreign press, including, among others, The New York Times, BBC, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, Time, The Guardian, Al Jazeera.

LLF has also showcased Pakistani authors and artists at its annual events in New York, with Asia Society, and in London, with the British Library. LLF’s efforts over the years led UNESCO to designate Lahore as a City of Literature in 2019.