The Qatari Forum for Authors held a new session of the ‘The Female Critics and Their Approaches’ initiative, which was held on the Forum’s YouTube channel and presented by Professor of Literature Issues and Critical and Comparative Studies at Qatar University, Dr. Abdulhak Belabed, who hosted the session with the participation of Critic and Professor of Literary Criticism and Narration Studies at the Arabic Department of QU, Dr. Nora Muhammad Faraj.
Dr. Belabed started the session by affirming that this initiative comes within the forum’s initiatives that encourage promoting the culture of criticism in society, as well as reading in an unconventional way, by inviting numerous of Arab intellectuals and critics, pointing out that ‘The Female Critics and Their Approaches’ initiative also comes to celebrate women’s distinguished voice as part of the celebration of the Year of Arab Women, as announced by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), which coincides with Doha being named the Capital of Culture in the Islamic World for 2021.
Dr. Nora discussed the line that separates the pleasure that she finds in creativity, and her journey through the world of criticism in her classes.
About the transformation of some from criticism to literary writing, and the validity of this transformation, Dr. Nora that the issue is always associated with the reactions that the creator or critic receives from the reader.
During her dialogue with Dr. Belabed, she also discussed the question of anxious identity that some of the writers come across; where they express the East throughout the Western perspective. She concluded her dialogue by expressing her appreciation for the initiatives provided by the Forum of Authors, as they significantly contribute to alleviating the isolation of readers and intellectuals, which was imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
