Ancient Arabic book, ‘Book of Songs’ shaped my thinking of Literature: Jokha Al Hathi

In a conversation with writer and translator Suneeta Balakrishnan at MBIFL 2023, Man Booker Prize Winner of 2019, Jokha Al Hathi revealed that the tenth century Arabic book of Asfahani shaped her thinking of Literature, which still remains close to her heart.

The author won the Prize for her novel, 'Celestial Bodies'.

The first recognition for the work was in 2010, which won the title, best Omani Novel of the Year. She shared that it took 5 years for 'Celestial Bodies' to be completed.

Speaking about publishing and  recognition of her work back at home, Hathi mentioned that her first novel was self published.

She grew up in a poetic environment as her grandfather was a classic poet of the time and that other renowned writers visited her home and shared their experiences, which gave wings to little Hathi's creativity.

She used to write from a very young age. Winning prizes for her writing during School days gave her the confidence to continue writing. An avid reader of Agatha Christie and admirer of Indian writers including Tagore, Arundhati Roy, Jhumpa Lahiri and K P Ramanunni, she gives all credits of her international acceptance to her translator Marilyn Booth.

'Celestial Bodies' is translated to 24 languages, which brought her world wide acclaim. Her latest novel 'Bitter Orange Tree', which depicts the theme of friendship and love is translated into various languages. The work is long listed in various prestigious award categories.

Hathi is presently a University  faculty in Arabic at Oman.She has started to write Children's Literature in Arabic which is expected to be translated soon and is also planning for travelogue writing.

The conversation ended with an engaging question - answer interaction with the audience.