"Knowledge break" Organizing discussion sessions on novels shortlisted for the award "Poker"

Dubai, April 21, 2017 – “Knowledge Break”, an initiative launched by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, in cooperation with the International Prize for Arabic Fiction “Booker”, organized a group of dialogue sessions that hosted an elite group of prominent writers and writers to discuss their fictional works nominated for the award’s shortlist.

The sessions come within the framework of the Foundation’s commitment to supporting prominent literary and cognitive events and activities in the region, especially those that support the Arabic language and open channels of direct communication between the public and Arab novelists, through a dialogue environment that contributes to encouraging emerging literary talents, allows the exchange of experiences for writers, and develops critical analysis skills among the public.

His Excellency Jamal bin Huwaireb, Executive Director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, stressed that the “Knowledge Lounge” sessions embody the Foundation’s firm commitment to supporting the literary and intellectual movement in the Arab world and enhancing the presence of the Arabic language as a vessel for creativity and knowledge. He expressed his pride in cooperating with the International Prize for Arabic Fiction “Booker”, which allows highlighting an elite group of distinguished novelist voices and opening the horizons of direct dialogue between writers and the public in line with the Foundation’s approach, which believes that these qualitative initiatives It contributes to building a cohesive knowledge society, inspires new generations to continue the path of creativity, and consolidates the position of Arabic literature in the global scene.

For his part, Dr. Yasser Suleiman, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (Booker), said that discussing the shortlisted novels within the “Knowledge Break” sessions constitutes a valuable opportunity for direct interaction between the writers of these novels and the masses of readers who interact with the works based on in-depth readings and rich discussions in their clubs, forums, and cultural breaks, which indicates a state of growing cultural awareness spreading among Arab intellectuals, and confirms that these circles constitute an incubating environment that bodes well. And growth.

One of the sessions discussed the novel “The Seer” by its author, Diya Jebaili, in which he touched on the journey that the novel’s hero takes in the unknowns of history, from the rise of civilizations until their fall, reviewing the sources of its inspiration and its basic idea, while in another session, writer Saeed Khatibi discussed his novel, “I Prevail the Course of the River” and discussed the apparent and hidden ideas and meanings it contains.

Khatibi, who won the Booker Prize for his aforementioned novel, stressed that the “Knowledge Break” sessions have a special importance in its discussions, as they go beyond being a reading initiative to form a comprehensive platform around which an elite group of readers, creators, and critics from the Arab world gathers, and allows writers to interact with readers about the depth of the literary experience and the essence of the creative process.

In a third session, writer Doaa Ibrahim, author of the novel “A Cloud Above My Head,” reviewed the ideas contained in the novel that push the reader to rethink the secrets of the human soul and its complex destinies.

The sessions hosted the writer Amin Al-Zawain to discuss his novel “A Sleep of the Nap,” who presented his vision on the philosophical message the novel carries and its importance, and the author Ahmed Abdel Latif, author of the novel “The Origin of Species,” who addressed the crisis of contemporary man and his imagined future image, while another session reviewed the novel “The Absence of Mai,” by its writer Najwa Barakat, and discussed deep emotional topics hidden in the secrets of the novel.

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