Saturday January 30th a literary universe was created when the local scholars, grown ups, and other interested in the event, showed up at the Book Fair at Stairway foundation – a celebration of something as humanly basic as language and literature.
Language is in its simplicity an essential tool in communication which I am sure not many will argue against. Literature and language seems too abstract to even be described in words which suddenly seems ironic. And what does literature and reading mean to people, and none the less the scholars, who showed up with Christmas lights in their eyes Saturday morning at 8 o’clock to get an overview of the books? So when you ask a young student, why he likes reading, the answer always seems to be “To learn and get knowledge”. It is the search for new knowledge that drives the interest as well as the wanting to become smarter, none the less the wish for education.
Raquel sits on the edge of the scene deeply concentrated in her new stack of books. Especially one book catches her eye. This book is about investment and business – a little unusual for a 14 year old girl but when I ask her about the book she explains: “I took this book because I want to learn about investment and business. I want to go to college and get an education within investment and business. I like math and hope that one day I can become a business woman.” The excitement is hard to miss and she proudly shows her other books that she has found in the many piles around the tables.
So love and passion must be the key word in this book fair. A statement which seems to be approved when the bestselling author Bebang Siy stopped by Stairway Foundation to talk about this exact passion. Bebang Siy is known for her best selling novel “It’s a Men’s world” which builds on her experience of being a woman in this world. Furthermore the overall subject in her presentation seems to be about love for literature. A love and interest which started at a young age. As very little Bebang Siy fell in love with letters and she quickly learned to construct and work with sentences. She tells about all of this from “A love story” which is a personal love story – a love story on the never ending opportunities of literature and language.
Literature and language must be more than a tool in communication and therefore just as much the key to the machine that drives the strive for knowledge and education. Literature and, its way of communicating knowledge, suddenly seems to be held up the blooming youth. We do not only get smarter but literature also works as a universe where time stands still. Jasmine expresses this when she tells how she can read her books while the hours fly by. “I find legends interesting and I often read about different legends. When I read I feel like I disappear into another world.” This must mean that literature has done its job. Because is it not the parallel universe that we seek when we loose ourselves in the words of the books? A universe where there is room for everyone. And books create interest, and a parallel between the universe and humans is created.
Gwen is standing by the table with a book about kites. When I ask him what he loves the most about reading his answer is short and precise. “I read to get smarter. I prefer reading fact books about building things. I dream of one day being able to build my own boat so therefore I read about this.”
So if you ask the many young scholars from the local community why they read, the answer is short and simple: “We read to get smarter!” And when we read together as well as alone we create a solid network of knowledge and communication. Therefore we can talk about the building stones to all language and then literature must be the thousand of atoms that together creates the frame around what we call language. Literature suddenly seems like a never ending machine with an ongoing production – a production which with its dynamic, keeps the language strong and valid. Because if the languages is not held a life it will experience an absolute zero and a hopeless state will occur. Language is dynamic, moving and changing. Language is without an answer and this is why literature seems to be the mirror image of society and its people – a connection that many writers seem to make clear through out generations. Literature creates mutations in the genetic pool of language but perhaps with a bit of human presence added to the language?
Sarah and Sophie (the girls from the north)