Al-Ittihad newspaper – Al-Rifai and Nasrallah in a symposium of creative creations. Writing questions between talent and study

Essam Abu Al Qassim (Sharjah)

To what extent can the study of creative writing in institutes and universities contribute to the emergence of new books, and how far can the author reach the level of writing when he learns the basics of academic writing and if you are a teacher in literature necessarily means that you have the ability to create literature? These questions were initiated by the seminar "Creativity of Narrative" organized as part of the cultural program that accompanied the 37th edition of the Sharjah Book Fair and organized by the "Forum of Literature" last night, presented and managed by the Emirati writer, Iman Ben Sheiba.
At the beginning of the symposium, Kuwaiti writer Talib Rifai said that creative writing was "a complicated thing". He could not be fully informed. Studying creative writing methods does not make the writer but can help empower some students. The spirit of creativity "to invent. "The creative writing programs in the universities deal with awareness," said Mr. Al-Rifai, adding that "the study" reinforces the creative experience of the gifted creator, but does nothing more. "Literature is a talent, not just an academic certificate." Noting that Western universities receive hundreds of people each year to study literature, she chooses five or ten after several tests, which indicates that the student who studies creativity should have the gift of instinct or talent.
In his speech, the novelist Ibrahim Nasrallah said that the principle of teaching creative writing academically, although it is not without complexity. "You can be a professor of literature without having to say that you have the ability to write, there are no basic principles of creative writing that can be learned and taught."
The writer, winner of the 2018 Arab Booker Award, said he learned in schools that did not encourage creative writing, adding that families in Palestinian society were preventing their children from reading (outside the university setting). "Awareness is becoming dangerous in a society like ours." Strict security fist.
"I do not know the basic principles of writing the novel, but some of them are familiar with the methods of writing through reading.They may have also lived a life rich in experiences ", concluded Nasrallah. "Even in the experience of a writer, he can do a successful job, followed by another who does not succeed.