Humanization and emphasis on nuance are two key weapons against the division of societies, which the most authoritarian leaders encourage and exploit because it works in their favor.
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This Tuesday, in an Oxford library, the writer Elif Shafak spoke about the power of literature in “wounded democracies” like Turkey. The author, who has just published her latest novel set in Iraq and the United Kingdom, was surrounded by manuscripts from great writers brought for the occasion: a children’s book by Jane Austen, a page by Mary Shelley, the remaining fragments poems by Sappho.
The conversation focused on the power of women as memory keepers and critical voices in contexts where they are silenced. Shafak doesn’t like artists who try to indoctrinate or write with a political or educational mission, but he said that if you come from a country like Turkey, you can’t afford “the luxury” of keep silent.
Just finished a @bodleianlibraries.bsky.social conversation with the incomparable Elif Shafak, discussing women writers, the roles and responsibilities of writers in our time, and her new book “There Are Rivers in the Sky.” What joy!
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– Richard Ovenden (@richove.bsky.social) November 26, 2024, 7:39 p.m.
In his case, he had to undergo a trial for “insulting Turkish identity,” during which the characters in one of his novels were treated as if they were real people. This may seem “surreal”, as she said, but this is no longer the case in a country where freedoms are fewer and fewer. To understand the persecution of writers, journalists, politicians, friends and enemies and Erdogan’s authoritarian drift, there is nothing better than the book recently published by our journalist Javier Biosca Azcoiti, You will feel the breath of Türkiye on your neck.
Shafak, born in France, raised in Turkey, spent his teenage years in Madrid and now living in the UK, now enjoys protection for his fame, his residence and even the language he uses. He says he feels more “free” now writing his novels in English. Its mission is subtle, but essential.
Even in the most difficult contexts, novels help to “humanize” people accustomed to the “dehumanization” encouraged by the most ruthless politicians in their insults towards their rivals or those perceived as enemies. Erdogan is an example, as are Putin and Trump in their messages. Novels, the author insisted, help tell stories “with nuance,” which can bring us a little closer to the truth and combat the dangerous simplification that results in frustration and apathy.
Humanization and an emphasis on nuance are two key weapons against the division of societies, which the most authoritarian leaders encourage and exploit because it works in their favor. Turkey is an extreme case, but there are lessons to be learned. Shafak emphatically reminded us of the risk of not trusting oneself or one’s neighbors, which ends up benefiting authoritarians. Democracy is not only about voting, but also about preserving civil society, and one where political labels divide communities is increasingly fragile.
His speech is powerful and, in these turbulent times, listening to those who have seen the deterioration of standards in their country is particularly useful. I share his appreciation of the power of fiction, but when he spoke, I wondered why almost no one talked about journalism in this way, as a way to humanize and tell reality with nuance. It should be this way and there are great examples of this, but fear or disinterest in nuances that contradict a strong story or headline is also very common.
With everything we’ve been talking about these days, especially about politicians, the situation has gotten worse), according to a study published Thursday by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, which includes eight countries, including Spain, where distrust in the media is very pronounced.
This aligns with other data from DANA pollster More In Common, which shows that 45% of citizens distrusted the “media in general” to find out what was happening in Valencia.
We are doing something wrong. And perhaps it’s worth thinking a little more about what good novelists achieve with something far less interesting than reality.
