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May 8, 2005
Looking back... and ahead
There are many myths we live with. One of the most commonly espoused one is that people don’t read books in Pakistan. Five years of Books & Authors have shattered this myth. We have discovered that there are readers of all types reading books of all kinds. They are a highly committed band interested in the written word. This might sound strange if we remember that Pakistan’s literacy is under 50 per cent and very few of these so-called literates can actually read, not to speak of how many can read English.
Book readers also like to read about books. Our barometer is the flow of books from publishers/booksellers. Within a few months of the launch of B & A, in May 2000, the trickle became a torrent — today we receive more than 100 titles a month — and thus we realized that we were being noticed. Hence the B & A which was initially a fortnightly of eight pages has expanded into a 12-page weekly. And this gave us courage to dream about making B & A a South Asian books magazine.
It also emboldened us to experiment with ideas. For instance, we brought out five special issues plus five more focusing on International Women’s Day. We also started reviewing books written in the regional languages, apart from those in English and Urdu, and carried articles on issues of specific interest to book readers.
Once we had opened the door, readers wanted more. Thus a debate was sparked off. How much space should we give to Urdu books? Should we look into issues being debated in literary circles? What about the regional languages?
The following letter from an eminent feminist writer epitomizes the debate:
“Books & Authors has been a cup of tea that I have always looked forward to on Sundays. All my favourite writers like Fadwa Tuqan or Noam Chomsky have found a prominent place in its pages. The profile section has always been interesting, but most of the section was covered by reviews of books printed in English.
“Very little space is given to Urdu books and controversies relating to modern literature have not been debated. Playing safe might be good as a policy, but provoking controversies and giving vent to new ideas is also the need of the day.
“In the present times no new philosophies in the structure of language or experiment in style are being introduced. The people and writers seem to shy away from controversies. Our mentality today is more slavish than it was in the days of colonization.”
Books & Authors has to decide how much space should be given to “literary activities” and how much to “books”. Dawn as an English-language newspaper will perforce have to keep its focus on books in English.
But literature is not confined to the covers of a book; nor are books only about literature — they range from politics and economics to cookery and baby care. So B & A will continue to be a bit of a pot-pourri, looking at everything and also keeping an eye on developments in Urdu and the regional languages. When literary controversies come up, they too will be covered, but B & A is not a literary journal. It is after all, as its name suggests, about books and authors. — Editor, Books & Authors
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