Subscribe to Print Edition | Thu., May 15, 2008 Iyyar 10, 5768 | | Israel Time: 12:17 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Writing the Writers / Only Connect By David B. Green Day Three. I don't want to go soft on you midweek, but I must point out the message I keep hearing in session after session of this festival - and most likely not because participants were given a list of talking points by their handlers from Mishkenot Sha'ananim. One after another, writers declare that they see one of the great goals of literature as creating "empathy," to help readers "step into the shoes" or "into the skin" of another, or be in "their eyes looking out." Yesterday, this idea was driven home for me in the three sessions I attended: a meeting of Irish novelist Niall Williams with his translator, Shlomit Handelsman; a panel discussion, led by scholar Fania Oz-Salzberger, with three writers who deal with the Holocaust - Israelis Savyon Liebrecht and Amir Gutfreund, and German Hans-Ulrich Treichel; and a conversation between Israeli writer Eli Amir and two men who translate from Hebrew into Arabic, Israeli Arab Naim Araidi and Egyptian journalist Hussein Serag. Advertisement It's Amos Oz who says that he sees curiosity as an "ethical quality," and an "antidote to fanaticism." Hussein Serag explained that when fellow Egyptians attack him for translating books by Israelis, and publishing Hebrew literature in October, the Arabic-language magazine in Cairo of which he is deputy editor, he tells them that "even if you see the Israelis as our enemies, you have to get to know them." Serag knows, though, that with understanding comes empathy (often), and with empathy, it's harder to hate. But enough of this sentimentality.... I was startled when Shlomit Handelsman told Niall Williams that reading, and then translating, his 2001 novel, "The Fall of Light," about a family torn apart by the Irish potato famine, reminded her of the reality of her own family - and she is the daughter of Holocaust survivors. She said that she "saw it as an epic novel," and so, when she was rendering it into Hebrew, she wrote the author to ask if "it would be okay for me to use a bit of Biblical language." He agreed. Williams told his audience that his goal in writing "The Fall of Light" was to deal with "the most significant moment in Irish history," the period between 1846 and 1848, when "Ireland's population was halved. There were those who died on the roads, and those who died on their way to America, in what came to be called the coffin ships," only to have their bodies tossed into the sea. The Irishman, who turns 50 this year, seemed very comfortable being on stage, but he said that in his 25 years as a published writer, he has only attended two or three such events. Why now, to this festival? "I was so surprised to be asked to come, it seemed as if it was out of my power to say yes or no." However, earlier in the session, which was so electrifying that it went on almost a half-hour beyond schedule, Williams, who said several times that he never writes or speaks out on politics ("my interest is in the human story"), spoke about the recent moves that seem to have brought Ireland's civil war to an end. "The 'Troubles' lasted 30 years, my entire childhood. And for most of my life, the idea of reconciliation was completely unimaginable." He calls the turn toward peace an example of "the infiltration of the imagination into politics." Perhaps a desire to deliver that message was another reason he decide to accept the invitation to Jerusalem. The conversation between Liebrecht, Gutfreund and Treichel was also riveting, principally because, whereas the two Israelis write as the children of Holocaust survivors, the German writes about the suffering endured by his nation - and his parents - during the war years, a subject that all agreed couldn't have been addressed in Germany a generation ago. Treichel, who said that not only did he grow up with no sympathy for his parents or their generation, but that even they "couldn't see themselves as victims" before the 1990s. "They felt an instinctual connection to the criminals, even though my father's family lost their land in Ukraine, and my mother lost her home in Poland." His father, too, never had an opportunity to be a war criminal, as he lost his arm on the Russian front, early in the war. But those weren't their only losses. Treichel's parents also lost a son after they were expelled from what was to become East Germany during the Russian advance in 1945. They ended up in Westphalia, in West Germany. "My brother had supposedly died in 1945, but he actually was lost," as they fled westward. "The search for him went on for years, but my parents never spoke of it. This shocked me," and this, says Treichel is what led him to write his most well-known book, "Lost," a fictional version of his family's story. It would be hard not to feel empathy for a family that went through all that. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Grass is greener For the cannabis-growing residents of Lebanon, recent fighting has been a blessing. Piggy bank savings Welfare Minister Herzog unveils a plan to open savings accounts for every Israeli child.

Read & React Bush: We must be firm in face of those who murder innocents Responses: 48 Israel dismayed over allies' burgeoning trade with Iran Responses: 20 MI Chief: Rockets could reach Be'er Sheva within two years Responses: 15 Israel Harel: Jews must try to resolve their existential crisis Responses: 3 Editorial: U.S. mustn't stand by idly as Israel plays with matches Responses: 5 More Headlines 12:05 Bush to tell Knesset: U.S. will not abandon Israel 11:59 MI Chief: Rockets could hit Be'er Sheva within two years 09:41 U.S. billionaire Daniel Abraham: I never gave money to Olmert 11:31 Rupert Murdoch at Peres conference: Spreading technology in region can help Mideast peace 11:51 Barak: It won't be long before Israel can stop rocket fire 10:57 Palestinians mark Nakba Day across West Bank and Gaza 10:58 Just how many animals actually traveled on Noah's Ark? 10:59 Ashkelon residents irate over IDF deactivation of strike alert 09:56 Israel's allies, Iran's trading partners 05:36 Presidential Primaries 2008 / Obama ignores Clinton, tries to inch closer to Israel 08:24 Senior defense source: 'Israel on collision course with Hamas' 08:35 UBS denies funding terror in Israel Previous Editions Select Day 14 may 13 may 12 may 11 may 09 may 08 may 07 may 06 may 05 may 04 may 02 may 01 may

Special Offers Advertisement Dead Sea Products Buy Dead Sea mineral skin care and beauty products. Coupon code Haaretz for 10% off. The Terraces Your Ultimate Coastal Address On Nitza Boulevard, North Netanya Together Celebrating Israel's 60th The Jewish Agency and You - together making history Pardes Institute Summer Sessions http://www.pardes.org.il/ Free the Palestinians from: Corrupt Kleptocracy, Tyrannical Theocracy, Abysmal Anarchy Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved