Over 250 writers have displayed their support for Kamila Shamsie over her German literary prize being rescinded.
Kamila Shamsie is a Pakistani British author. She wrote her first novel while still in college and her latest book, 'Home Fire' won the Women's Prize for Fiction 2018. Her previous books have also won the Prime Minister's Award for Literature in Pakistan, Patras Bokhari Award and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for fiction. Most recently in 2019 she was awarded the Nelly Sachs Prize.
The Nelly Sachs Prize is a bi-annual award that honours authors for thier literary contributions to the promotion of understanding between peoples and building bridges between societies. The award has since then been rescinded for Shamsie's political stance and actions.
“With its vote for the British writer Kamila Shamsie … the jury honoured the author’s outstanding literary work,” they said in a statement, “At that time, despite prior research, the members of the jury were not aware that the author has been participating in the boycott measures against the Israeli government for its Palestinian policies since 2014.”
“Shamsie’s political positioning to actively participate in the cultural boycott as part of the BDS campaign a … is clearly in contradiction to the statutory objectives of the award,” said the jury, as reported by The Guardian. “The cultural boycott does not transcend borders, but affects the whole of Israeli society regardless of its actual political and cultural heterogeneity. Kamila Shamsie’s work is also withheld from the Israeli population in this way. This contrasts with the claim of the Nelly Sachs prize to proclaim and exemplify reconciliation among peoples and cultures. The jury regrets the situation in every respect.”
In a statement Shamsie said, “It is a matter of outrage that the BDS movement (modelled on the South African boycott) that campaigns against the government of Israel for its acts of discrimination and brutality against Palestinians should be held up as something shameful and unjust.”
Shamsie said her statement wasn't published by the City of Dortmund. And open letter was published by the London Review of Books where several internationally renowned authors expressed support for her and included her statement.
"What is the meaning of a literary award that undermines the right to advocate for human rights, the principles of freedom of conscience and expression, and the freedom to criticise? Without these, art and culture become meaningless luxuries," the letter reads.
Arundhati Roy, JM Coetzee, Sally Rooney, Jeanette Winterson and George Saunders are but some of the authors who have openly supported Shamsie in this matter.
Start a Conversation
Post comment