Yemen’s literary criticism ailing [Archives:2006/922/Culture]
A symposium was held Thursday, Feb. 16 at the Sana'a-based Arab Critic Forum discussing, “The Criticism Scene in Yemen,” presented by coordinator Dr. Ahmed Al-Zumur, Dr. Ahmed Al-Mansouri and Dr. Ali Haddad.
Al-Zumur gave an overview of the general criticism scene worldwide and current approaches. The other two presenters discussed aspects of literary criticism in Yemen.
Sana'a University Faculty of Languages professor Al-Mansouri centered his talk on what he called, “The Reality and Ambition of Academic Criticism,” focusing his attention on university-bound criticism. He admitted that literary criticism in Yemen is feeble and should be invigorated by first diagnosing its weaknesses and then trying to eliminate them.
Al-Mansouri pointed out that a country's literary criticism can be gauged by its academic institutions' production because it is only there that erudite, profound and disciplined criticism can be found. He divided such criticism into two categories: theoretical and applied. The former involves studying a particular issue in a theoretical manner, as well as developing criticism in Yemen, such as Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Maqaleh's “The Genesis of Criticism in Yemen,” and Dr. Riyadh Al-Qirshi's “Modern Literary Criticism in Yemen.” The latter includes works of a host of critics who tried examining creative works in light of set rules of a particular literary school or studying general aesthetic characteristics of poetry from a specific era.
Al-Mansouri said a number of critics have used the modern literary approaches, both textual and contextual. On the other hand, he also enumerated the foibles, mentioning a production crisis wherein academic critics do not produce works continuously. “After they obtain their academic degrees, they rest for a long time,” he said, “Some feel more at home with politics or get absorbed in social activities.” However, Al-Mansouri cited certain exceptions like renowned Yemeni critic Al-Maqaleh.
Another problem is keeping up with Arab and foreign criticism, as critics live on islands, isolated from other critics elsewhere and from Arab literary criticism heritage. Also among problems is lack of contact with creative individuals, especially young writers, who even have published their own full works – which Al-Maqaleh calls “orphaned works” – because they must be accompanied by criticism. He concluded his presentation by highlighting the well-known adage, “Wherever there is good criticism, there is good creation.”
Thereafter, Haddad indicated the problem of criticism in terms of the area it works in and the critic's own specifications. He described a true critic as “a rare creature,” hardly to be found because of high qualifications he or she must embody, such as being knowledgeable, experienced, multilingual, etc.
He pointed out that modern criticism has come from the West, but criticism is a human phenomenon with no nationality. According to Haddad, this is why it is difficult to tackle literary criticism within the limited boundary of a country.
He mentioned some elements of Yemeni critical experience, such as knowledge accumulation, contact with the prevailing atmosphere, the nature and quality of criticism produced, critics and whether they live up to the task of criticizing literary works.
Haddad commented on Yemen's criticism scene regarding the following: the label “critic” must be redefined, as some are literature teachers or researchers and may not be critics; criticism published in journals is the most common type of criticism in Yemen but does not live up to the quality of academic criticism. Haddad described Arab critics' contribution to the local criticism scene, saying most Arab literary figures visited Yemen and contributed something pertinent.
“Good creation can exist in a bad situation, but it takes a real civilization to give birth to good criticism,” Haddad asserted. He cited examples from the Arab past, including great poet Abu Al-Tayib Al-Mutanabi, who transcended his deteriorating age, but said criticism cannot live only in a bright age such as the Abbasid State.
Symposium participants pointed out that to discuss a subject as broad as Yemen's criticism scene requires a larger time span, as it requires discussing related aspects such as criticism of all literary genres – novels, stories, plays, etc. The topic also requires discussing the timeline of literary criticism development in Yemen. Participants called on literary and cultural institutions to encourage criticism, pushing it into broader horizons to improve cultural reality and stir stagnant waters. Audience member Dr. Hatim Al-Saqr suggested a week would have been adequate to cover the subject, provided more specialists were involved.
A number of academics and interested parties attended the symposium, including Arab Critic Forum director, Dr. Abdul-Wase' Al-Himiari.
——
[archive-e:922-v:14-y:2006-d:2006-02-20-p:culture]
