Marina Warner, Elleke Boehmer, Nadeem Aslam, Edwin Frank and Wen-chin Ouyang regrouped at The Book Lounge in Cape Town on Wednesday to discuss the process they followed to select the 10 finalists for the 2015 Man Booker International (MBI) Prize.
The list of Man Booker International finalists was announced in Cape Town on Tuesday, and includes author and poet Marlene van Niekerk – the first South African to be nominated for the prize since its inception.
Guided by prize administrator Fiametta Rocco, the judges read passages from the nominees’ work, in most cases the opening paragraphs from selected novels, to support their argument for why these authors could all be deserving winners.
Rocco facilitated a rich conversation around translation, the power of fiction to transport and the question of the definition of global – among many other topics. To kick off, each judge presented something that stood out for them in the selection process.
The process left Boehmer exhausted, frazzled, challenged, fascinated and hyper-stimulated, she told the packed audience. Aslam pointed out that it was exhilarating to look at an entire oeuvre for a change, as opposed to focusing on one novel, and simply enjoyed talking to his friends about wonderful books as opposed to focusing on one novel. He addressed the issue raised by so many that the list includes too many unknown writers, saying: “If you read these books you will see that there is absolutely no reason that these people should be unknown!”
Frank said the MBI gave them “an opportunity to survey world literature” and noted that the authors on the final list answer the question of how we can write, now, about the world we live in, now. Many of the books also deal with historical trauma, and the non-secret way of dealing with it. Ouyang singled out the texture of language that signified the day-to-day lived experience and the way in which it weighs trauma and extrapolates the character, and consequently the reader, from himself.
As at the announcement, the definition of the term “global” was put under the magnifying glass, prompting Aslam to repeat what he had said the day before: “We frequently congratulate ourselves with this word ‘global’. We must recognise the fact that this is the reality for only a very small amount of people.” He shared the startling figure that only five or six percent of the world’s population has ever been on a plane, “and here we are talking about a global literature”.
The beauty and complexity of the voices reflected on the shortlist was showcased in the readings presented by the judges. It was noted that all these authors have one thing in common: their first paragraphs invite the reader to sit down and listen, warning them that the writer has a story to tell.
The MBI website offers short biographies of each of the 10 authors on the shortlist, including books to read should you wish to acquaint yourself with their work. The judges acknowledged that it might seem a daunting venture, but encouraged readers to step out and find the power of this particular collection of fiction for themselves:
- César Aira (Argentina)
- Hoda Barakat (Lebanon)
- Maryse Condé (Guadeloupe)
- Mia Couto (Mozambique)
- Amitav Ghosh (India)
- Fanny Howe (United States of America)
- Ibrahim al-Koni (Libya)
- László Krasznahorkai (Hungary)
- Alain Mabanckou (Republic of Congo)
- Marlene van Niekerk (South Africa)
The short discussion also highlighted the importance and intricacy of translation. This was shown in practice when Boehmer asked a member of the audience to read from Marlene van Niekerk’s Agaat in Afrikaans, after which she herself read from Michiel Heyns’ translation.
When asked how they approached the mammoth task of choosing just 10 authors for the list of finalists, Warner said she invited the panel to bring to their first discussion five novelists they felt would be deserving winners, but who the other four judges may not have heard of before, in order to focus on relatively undiscovered voices first before considering more established writers. Warner stressed, however, that this by no means meant that their strategy was to reward an unknown author, it was merely a strategy used to approach the task at hand. From there they simply jumped into the vast pool of literature, coming up for air eighteen months later to make the announcement in Cape Town, South Africa.
Helené Prinsloo tweeted live from the discussion, using the hashtag #MBI15:
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The panel reconvened again last night at UCT where they discussed the important matter of what constitutes a world literature from the perspective of the South. Keep an eye on Books LIVE for our report on the event.
Read more Man Booker International coverage:
- “A Blazing Voice”, “Absolutely Astonishing” – Man Booker International Judges on Marlene van Niekerk
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