As I sit here from
this side of the ocean, word from Cairo sounds as horrid to me as to
everyone else here. But I know what it was like last time when the news was scary.
Our neighborhood is an
international community and a grand mix of many different people. We all bonded
together during the worst of it and have worked together to come to terms with
a very different Egypt. Now, my family and I are in the US. We plan to be here
for the year, at least. But, ringing in our ears, we hear the sounds of a world
uncertain and a future full of fear.
When we, as
authors, write, we want to bring our readers on a journey. We want them to join
us in our strange new worlds. Escaping into a book can be one of the most
profound experiences in someone’s life. Enduring uncertainty and conflict may
sometimes depend on escaping from it. Having books to share and, for each of
us, having books to savor privately, was how my family managed to wake up each
day, ready for whatever we had to face.
I want to take this
moment to thank all of you, the brilliant minds who author the worlds we are
privileged to experience whenever we step into the pages of your books.
Eden -- I've been thinking of you and also another blogger I know who lives in Egypt. I am glad that you and your family are in the U.S. right now, but I am sure that your hearts are full, thinking of Cairo, your neighbors, and the country undergoing so much turmoil.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I think of Egypt, I think of you and your family, Eden. I am glad you are safe, but aching for those in danger half a world away.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Eden. I've always told my students that one of the most beautiful things about literature is it allows readers the chance to see the world through another's perspective. But your post makes me think I may be wrong. Perhaps I should tell them literature's most profound aspect is its ability to ready the human form into the condition most readily necessary for survival. That is, it helps build a grab-bag of experiences (albeit second-hand, and fictional) to help ready ourselves for all kinds of tests of the human experience. Not sure I'm explaining this well, but it's coming through clearly in my head how literature is kind of like training for all kinds of experiences.
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