I appreciate that they made an effort to recognize a writer with a perspective largely underrepresented in classic or "mainstream" literature! I hadn't heard of him prior to the award, but really sounds like it was deserved. I'll have to check him out.
Thank you for this amazing video. I hadn't even heard his name. But now thanks to you I know something about him😅 I too agree that his prize was very much deserved. (Although I was expecting Murakami to win it💔🚶♀️🚬)
Thanks so much, Hathis! It's wonderful to see you here. I also predicted Murakami to win but I think he's too successful a writer, so the Nobel committee likes less known authors, but who knows maybe next year.
Just a correction: the ZNR revolution was in 1964 - when Abdulrazak Gurnah was 16 years old (not when he was 6). Otherwise a great introduction! And definitely a worthy winner!
He is not THE voice OF East Africa. He is not even A voice IN Africa. Abdulrazak Gurnah is an important voice FROM East Africa. It's imperative that Africans are not summed up under one voice and perspective. Although racism, colonialism, sexism, ethnic cleansing, and xenophobia are generally the root causes of the refugee experience, the refugee experience is still unique to the individual and the history of their homeland and the lands they make their new homes. His perspective is one of many that was rightfully considered and honored with this globally recognized prize. Kudos to him.
When they announced him as a Tanzanian writer i thought that he lives there and writes in Swahili but then i found out that he basically lived his whole life in Britain and writes only in English so the obvious question is how is he a Tanzanian writer? He is a British writer of Tanzanian origin not a Tanzanian one.When Kazuo Ishiguro won the prize nobody said he was or is a Japanese writer everybody said he is an English writer of Japanese origin so why did they try to portray Gurnah as Tanzanian?
@@karthala6676 He lived in the UK for far to long to not have their citizenship but the bigger issue is that he only writes in English and not in any of the local languages.
The Japanese media certainly claimed Ishiguro as their own after the Nobel Prize, perhaps not in the west. In fact in the 80s, Ishiguro was fed up with being labelled Japanese. In Gurnah's case, it is difficult to say as he spent most of his life in the UK, but he was 18 when he moved to the UK. Ishiguro was like 5 years old. Ishiguro wrote his first two novels on Japan, and then fed up with media labelling him, he never wrote about Japan because he wanted to be labelled a British writer. Gurnah writes mostly about his Tanzanian past and has never tried to distance himself from Tanzania. I hope these points help to get a better picture.
@@Fiction_Beast It is not the subject of his novels that is the issue but the location and language. Ishiguro is a English/British writer not a Japanese one regardless what the Japanese media says about him. By that logic Joseph Conrad is a Congolese writer because his best book is about the Congo.Conrad is also British regardless of his origin because he also wrote only in English.
Zanzibar was invaded by Tanganyika , Zanzibar was a member of UN . It was annexed by Force and Up to this Day its leader is chosen by Tanganyika which internationelly disguises as Tanzania
I'm Polish. My English is quite good. Maybe I'll try to read it in original language. I think that someone will translate Abdulrazak Gurnah since he's got Nobel prize in literature. I also wondered why you don't have any video about Polish Nobel winner Olga Tokarczuk. She really deserves it.
He was basically still a teen-ager when he left, so, is he "African", or ethnic Arab, or even from the Western side of India? Could it be that his novels could be seen as a cultural appropriation by a man descended from colonialists?
I dont fully understand what is or not cultural appropriation, but yes he was 18 when he moved to the UK. i believe he's still the citizen of Tanzania, but yes he has lived most of his life abroad. Just remember Arabs and Indians have been living on Zanzibar island for centuries. I don't know the history of how they got there though. Gurnah's writing is mostly about displacement (hence he writes about refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers).
@@Fiction_Beast I only asserted a question that I do not have an answer for. We've attributed all this "stuff" to a man none of us know, and perhaps a personal history he does not even know himself. Was the prize for the quality of his fiction, or the perceived value to contemporary culture, a perception that may have no basis in fact, but just a "FEELING"?
@@nuqwestr I guess we will never know because the Nobel Prize selection process is completely anonymous behind closed doors. I think many factors play a role. I believe his novels just one, his background being from East Africa is another and his subject matter (refugees) another. Just remember the Nobel Prize didnt consider Tolstoy, Chekhov, Proust, Joyce, Borges and many more great authors. Am I angry? Not really. The Swedish Academy is free to give their prize and money to anyone they like. Is it the only way to see greatness in an author? absoultely not. Most Nobel Prize winners are totally forgotten today and very few people read them. So it is what it is.
I cannot speak for the exact reasons why he was selected for the Nobel Prize, but Abdulrazak's background is more nuanced than just being "Ethnically Arab" - he has heritage native to the African Swahili Coast as well as family from Yemen, so it would be reductive to dismiss him or his work as 'cultural appropriation.' Also its important to note that his writing explores the upheaval of livlihood due to power shifts, colonialism and migration, all of which he has personal life experience in. I would say it is clear from his work that he does not claim to speak for any specific cultrural or ethnic group outside of the context of these core themes. Source: I am his Grandson :)
I have noticed that Arabs have colonized many African countries but Arabs living those countries never consider Arabs as colonizers. An Algerian man in New York was very angry at the French but not at Arabs and I wonder why?
كلامك خاطئ تماما ،،اعرف تاريخ الدول قبل أن تتكلم ، أما بالنسبه لفرنسا فأنت تعرف ماذا تعني فرنسا وماذا فعلت في بلداننا الافريقيه ،،لقد قتلت فرنسا سبعه ملايين جزائري علي مدي 150 عاما ووضعهم علي فوهات المدافع واغتصاب نساءهم ،، هذا فقط في الجزائر فما بالك بجميع دول افريقيا
I am an Algerian and I can answer your questions : not all Algerians consider the French are the only colonizers. For instance, as a non Arab i consider both are colonizers. The difference is that the majority here are arabized, they consider themselves as Arabs. And at school they don't teach us about the Arabs as being colonizers. We have studied at early age that the Arabs came here in peace and the only history we have been taught was the "Islamic expansions" the history before that has been hidden. We were not allowed and still not allowed to read about our origins " I mean at school". So the image given to us about the Arabs is good and that all they did was bringing light to us. In contrast, the French colonialism, they illustrated it as being the only savage that ruined our country. Now imagine that at the age of 5 or 6 they teach you all this. And the educational system here is not encouraging skeptical thinking, rather it represses it. That's why the majority doesn't look for the truth and take everything they have been thought for granted. In addition, the locals here reside only in some regions and are the only ones who consider both colonizers, but unfortunately the majority's opinion is the one spread. I am sure your friend is arabized. If he was an amazigh he would say that both are colonizers. Hope you anderstand now.
I wouldnt put that way, but it does come across that way, because he isnt famous. I will say this, the nobel prize is always criticised for being too Euro-centric, so I wouldn't like to be one deciding who wins. There always people will criticise them for this or that. But i love it is there celebrating literature.
@@Fiction_Beast i read their reasoning in swedish news paper. They say he won because of the subject matter and which lens he used to write it. How is it not euro-centric when he complains about Europeans. White guilt over colonialism. I dont think it would have won if there wasn't this push for white guilt by the woke.
Actually his work is not whiny, or blatantly blaming Europeans as such. In his most famous novel, it’s mostly about an Arab merchant and a little boy who is sold to him due to poverty. As I said in my video, his novels focus on individuals and their stories rather than a community or race as such. Colonialism is for the most part just in the background. His tales are very nuanced about the lives of individuals displaced.
These are all good points. And also you did say in your commentary that objections or challenges to migration is based on racism. That's quite a sweeping statement. It more likely involves issues related to economy, language, living conditions and housing, the right of a country to have borders and immigration law. Otherwise, the presentation was well-done.
Your video is very informative about Abdulrazak Gurnah and his works. Unfortunately, you know next to nothing about Zanzibar because you repeated the same colonialist racist clichés and propaganda that caused the genocide of too many innocent Zanzibaris in January 1964. Try to do the same about the holocaust of the Jews in Europe during the Second World War or the genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia if you dare. Sadly, your introduction gives legitimacy to the genocide and blatant discrimination that forced Gurnah and too many others to flee their beloved Islands.
I appreciate that they made an effort to recognize a writer with a perspective largely underrepresented in classic or "mainstream" literature! I hadn't heard of him prior to the award, but really sounds like it was deserved. I'll have to check him out.
He was a complete unknown, but now i think he will be read around the world.
Thank you for this amazing video. I hadn't even heard his name. But now thanks to you I know something about him😅 I too agree that his prize was very much deserved. (Although I was expecting Murakami to win it💔🚶♀️🚬)
Thanks so much, Hathis! It's wonderful to see you here. I also predicted Murakami to win but I think he's too successful a writer, so the Nobel committee likes less known authors, but who knows maybe next year.
Thank you for this video. you are giving voice to refugees to provide support and assistance to them.
Really great video.
Thank you!
your analysis is amazing and brief thank you
Thanks!
Just a correction: the ZNR revolution was in 1964 - when Abdulrazak Gurnah was 16 years old (not when he was 6). Otherwise a great introduction! And definitely a worthy winner!
Appreciate the correction! Thanks so much!
Informative one thanks 🙏
Thank you for the link and a brief history of Zanzibar as well as mr Abdulrazak story.
Thank you!
Thanks for this.
My pleasure!
He is not THE voice OF East Africa. He is not even A voice IN Africa. Abdulrazak Gurnah is an important voice FROM East Africa. It's imperative that Africans are not summed up under one voice and perspective. Although racism, colonialism, sexism, ethnic cleansing, and xenophobia are generally the root causes of the refugee experience, the refugee experience is still unique to the individual and the history of their homeland and the lands they make their new homes. His perspective is one of many that was rightfully considered and honored with this globally recognized prize. Kudos to him.
Thank you very much
You are welcome
really informative video🥰
Glad you think so!
When they announced him as a Tanzanian writer i thought that he lives there and writes in Swahili but then i found out that he basically lived his whole life in Britain and writes only in English so the obvious question is how is he a Tanzanian writer?
He is a British writer of Tanzanian origin not a Tanzanian one.When Kazuo Ishiguro won the prize nobody said he was or is a Japanese writer everybody said he is an English writer of Japanese origin so why did they try to portray Gurnah as Tanzanian?
Everyone has been saying Tanzanian. It could be that he does not have a British Citizenship
@@karthala6676 He lived in the UK for far to long to not have their citizenship but the bigger issue is that he only writes in English and not in any of the local languages.
The Japanese media certainly claimed Ishiguro as their own after the Nobel Prize, perhaps not in the west. In fact in the 80s, Ishiguro was fed up with being labelled Japanese. In Gurnah's case, it is difficult to say as he spent most of his life in the UK, but he was 18 when he moved to the UK. Ishiguro was like 5 years old. Ishiguro wrote his first two novels on Japan, and then fed up with media labelling him, he never wrote about Japan because he wanted to be labelled a British writer. Gurnah writes mostly about his Tanzanian past and has never tried to distance himself from Tanzania. I hope these points help to get a better picture.
@@Fiction_Beast It is not the subject of his novels that is the issue but the location and language. Ishiguro is a English/British writer not a Japanese one regardless what the Japanese media says about him.
By that logic Joseph Conrad is a Congolese writer because his best book is about the Congo.Conrad is also British regardless of his origin because he also wrote only in English.
I wouldn’t lose sleep over that. If he says he’s Tanzanian who am I dispute that?
Thanks a bunch!
You're welcome!
Zanzibar was invaded by Tanganyika , Zanzibar was a member of UN . It was annexed by Force and Up to this Day its leader is chosen by Tanganyika which internationelly disguises as Tanzania
If one sums up history, it's mostly about invasion.
Superb.
Thank you! Cheers!
What a shame that his novels weren't translated in my country!
if your English is good, why dont you translate them? What language by the way?
I'm Polish. My English is quite good. Maybe I'll try to read it in original language. I think that someone will translate Abdulrazak Gurnah since he's got Nobel prize in literature. I also wondered why you don't have any video about Polish Nobel winner Olga Tokarczuk. She really deserves it.
Oh I made a video about Pan Tadeusz for Poland. Maybe I’ll read her in the future.
He was basically still a teen-ager when he left, so, is he "African", or ethnic Arab, or even from the Western side of India? Could it be that his novels could be seen as a cultural appropriation by a man descended from colonialists?
I dont fully understand what is or not cultural appropriation, but yes he was 18 when he moved to the UK. i believe he's still the citizen of Tanzania, but yes he has lived most of his life abroad. Just remember Arabs and Indians have been living on Zanzibar island for centuries. I don't know the history of how they got there though. Gurnah's writing is mostly about displacement (hence he writes about refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers).
@@Fiction_Beast I only asserted a question that I do not have an answer for. We've attributed all this "stuff" to a man none of us know, and perhaps a personal history he does not even know himself. Was the prize for the quality of his fiction, or the perceived value to contemporary culture, a perception that may have no basis in fact, but just a "FEELING"?
@@nuqwestr I guess we will never know because the Nobel Prize selection process is completely anonymous behind closed doors. I think many factors play a role. I believe his novels just one, his background being from East Africa is another and his subject matter (refugees) another. Just remember the Nobel Prize didnt consider Tolstoy, Chekhov, Proust, Joyce, Borges and many more great authors. Am I angry? Not really. The Swedish Academy is free to give their prize and money to anyone they like. Is it the only way to see greatness in an author? absoultely not. Most Nobel Prize winners are totally forgotten today and very few people read them. So it is what it is.
I cannot speak for the exact reasons why he was selected for the Nobel Prize, but Abdulrazak's background is more nuanced than just being "Ethnically Arab" - he has heritage native to the African Swahili Coast as well as family from Yemen, so it would be reductive to dismiss him or his work as 'cultural appropriation.'
Also its important to note that his writing explores the upheaval of livlihood due to power shifts, colonialism and migration, all of which he has personal life experience in. I would say it is clear from his work that he does not claim to speak for any specific cultrural or ethnic group outside of the context of these core themes.
Source: I am his Grandson :)
Shared by Atul Mishra sir 🙏
Noble for literature only for European languages
Concentrate on Asian languages
One dozen Indian writers Lost Noble Award
Yes, the Nobel Committee should visit India for a change. Only Tagore if I am correct.
can you name some indian writers who are worthy of nobel?
📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚
To be honest tho....
I have noticed that Arabs have colonized many African countries but Arabs living those countries never consider Arabs as colonizers. An Algerian man in New York was very angry at the French but not at Arabs and I wonder why?
كلامك خاطئ تماما ،،اعرف تاريخ الدول قبل أن تتكلم ، أما بالنسبه لفرنسا فأنت تعرف ماذا تعني فرنسا وماذا فعلت في بلداننا الافريقيه ،،لقد قتلت فرنسا سبعه ملايين جزائري علي مدي 150 عاما ووضعهم علي فوهات المدافع واغتصاب نساءهم ،، هذا فقط في الجزائر فما بالك بجميع دول افريقيا
اعرف تاريخ الدول اولا قبل أن تتحدث يا فخوري
I am an Algerian and I can answer your questions : not all Algerians consider the French are the only colonizers. For instance, as a non Arab i consider both are colonizers. The difference is that the majority here are arabized, they consider themselves as Arabs. And at school they don't teach us about the Arabs as being colonizers. We have studied at early age that the Arabs came here in peace and the only history we have been taught was the "Islamic expansions" the history before that has been hidden. We were not allowed and still not allowed to read about our origins " I mean at school". So the image given to us about the Arabs is good and that all they did was bringing light to us.
In contrast, the French colonialism, they illustrated it as being the only savage that ruined our country.
Now imagine that at the age of 5 or 6 they teach you all this. And the educational system here is not encouraging skeptical thinking, rather it represses it. That's why the majority doesn't look for the truth and take everything they have been thought for granted.
In addition, the locals here reside only in some regions and are the only ones who consider both colonizers, but unfortunately the majority's opinion is the one spread. I am sure your friend is arabized. If he was an amazigh he would say that both are colonizers. Hope you anderstand now.
@@hayatkaidi7889 هههه لا بجد ،،هل تقرون التاريخ كتاريخ ام تختارون مواقف بعينها ،،ثانيا لم اقرا في مقدمه ابن خلدون اي شي عن هذا
@@hayatkaidi7889 ثم هل التاريخ يقرأ من جانب شخص واحد ام من كل كتب التاريخ
He won because he told a story that fit the woke narrative.
I wouldnt put that way, but it does come across that way, because he isnt famous. I will say this, the nobel prize is always criticised for being too Euro-centric, so I wouldn't like to be one deciding who wins. There always people will criticise them for this or that. But i love it is there celebrating literature.
@@Fiction_Beast i read their reasoning in swedish news paper. They say he won because of the subject matter and which lens he used to write it.
How is it not euro-centric when he complains about Europeans. White guilt over colonialism.
I dont think it would have won if there wasn't this push for white guilt by the woke.
Actually his work is not whiny, or blatantly blaming Europeans as such. In his most famous novel, it’s mostly about an Arab merchant and a little boy who is sold to him due to poverty. As I said in my video, his novels focus on individuals and their stories rather than a community or race as such. Colonialism is for the most part just in the background. His tales are very nuanced about the lives of individuals displaced.
You didn't even read them you saw a black man writing a novel and you screamed read the novel first
These are all good points. And also you did say in your commentary that objections or challenges to migration is based on racism. That's quite a sweeping statement. It more likely involves issues related to economy, language, living conditions and housing, the right of a country to have borders and immigration law. Otherwise, the presentation was well-done.
Your video is very informative about Abdulrazak Gurnah and his works. Unfortunately, you know next to nothing about Zanzibar because you repeated the same colonialist racist clichés and propaganda that caused the genocide of too many innocent Zanzibaris in January 1964. Try to do the same about the holocaust of the Jews in Europe during the Second World War or the genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia if you dare. Sadly, your introduction gives legitimacy to the genocide and blatant discrimination that forced Gurnah and too many others to flee their beloved Islands.
The video is not the history of anzibar, it is just an intro to his life and works.