Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel Prize winner for Literature, inaugurated the 20th International Festival of Literature (ILB) in its 20th edition, saying that he wanted to "saturate society with literature," stressing that "literature was made for difficult times, like the ones we are going through."

Although the Corona pandemic caused the cancellation or postponement of many literary festivals throughout Germany, the International Literature Festival in Berlin, which lasts for 10 days, has not been postponed, in the presence of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, international literary elites and authors from around the world such as the laureate. Nobel Prize for Literature Olga Tokarczuk, Austrian novelist Daniel Kellmann, German Ingo Schulze, Egyptian Alaa Al-Aswany, Hillary Mantell, and others.

Literature in the Time of the Pandemic

Vargas Llosa talked about the role of writers and authors since ancient times, saying, "We have written stories that help us express our fears ... it is a way to resist the shortcomings of life," saying that it is good to have literature in these unexpected and dangerous moments for everyone.

At the opening ceremony, Monica Grutters, the Federal Commissioner for Culture and Information in Germany promised to rethink the methods of establishing and operating theaters again properly, and to review the current rules of distancing, saying, "I think there must be change", stressing that reviving cultural life is an existential matter of democracy, according to Deutsche Welle. .

Literature against dictatorship

In his speech, the 84-year-old Nobel Prize winner in 2010 emphasized the ability of literature to change people's lives, considering that dictatorships are always extremely wary of literature. "They know that literature is a threat to them," he said.

Noble writer Mario Vargas Llosa says the pandemic will have an impact on (European) literature, painting and music

The writer of Peruvian origin and the author of "War at the End of the World" added that "for 300 years under colonial regimes in Latin America, there was silence like a novel" before the first books found their way in the 18th century. Novels are more than entertainment. They contain an unwillingness to submit. They refer to a different reality. "

The Peruvian writer, who lives between Spain and Britain, argues that “literature has a talent to show us that something is wrong.” And he said, “If we as citizens we do not want to be just zombies, beings that accept everything imposed from above, we must saturate society with literature. ".

Vargas Llosa, who long ago abandoned his youthful enthusiasm for communism and considers himself a liberal now, referred to unfree societies in general terms only.

Nevertheless, he emphasized the utopian potential of literature in non-free societies. Literature considers an element of struggle "and it shows us that the impossible can be possible."

Quarantine and politics

Yusa admits that he felt some relief from the experience of quarantine and general lockdown;

The events were canceled, the journalists stopped bothering, and he had time to return to books that "affected me deeply," such as Tolstoy's "War and Peace" or Joyce's "Ulysses", and he even re-read some books, and he is now writing about Benito Perez Galdos, He is considered the second best Spanish writer after Cervantes, and who dazzled him in his ability to fruitfully combine politics and literature, according to the Spanish newspaper ABC.

German President Steinmeier quoted the German playwright Heiner Muller as saying that "politics is the art of the possible, while literature has a greater relationship with the impossible" to direct his question to Lusa whether politics helped him in making better literature, to which Lusa replied, "I do not know, but it is indispensable." A good writer, even if you hate it, because you cannot do good literature if you ignore politics. "

The conversation turned directly to managing the pandemic, and about whether dictatorships have demonstrated greater reactive capacity than democracies.

"What happens is that in democracies there are facts and lies, but in dictatorial regimes there are only lies," Yusa said.

"There is a big question about what really happened in dictatorships. We know little or nothing," he said, citing China as an example.

On the other hand, Steinmeier avoided linking the number of deaths to political systems, but insisted that democratic mechanisms allow for a better approach to solving problems. ”Trust in the authorities does not mean not criticizing what they do; on the contrary, this trust leads to justified criticism, to transparent and open debate that makes decisions More efficient".

The German President also called on people to leave Eurocentrism and study the way countries in other parts of the world have suffered from the epidemic, and said, “I recently spoke with the President of Kenya and became interested in how they were suffering from the health crisis there. He told me that he understood how bad the situation in Europe was, but he was He has priority for Ebola in the northwest of his country, the spread of malaria with no vaccines available, AIDS is out of control, and in fourth place he was concerned about the Corona virus.

Vargas Llosa said, "This epidemic has affected the poorest people much more than middle-class people who were able to stay at home, but for example in countries like Peru, where many people earn their living day by day, they went out for sale or did not find food to eat." ".

Mario Vargas Llosa speaking with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the International Literature Festival in Berlin (Getty Images)

Literature and democracy

Vargas Llosa highlighted the role of literature as the seed of critical awareness and essential debates, saying, "Literature creates citizens who are more difficult to manipulate, undisciplined, dissatisfied, always inclined to criticize, and always looking for error."

"Soon we will read stories that help us deal with this collective trauma, and that reflect the psychological and social consequences of the pandemic," Yusa added, addressing the German president, "I think this will take some time ... you will have to spend some time thinking and chewing what you went through, before it becomes ... Coronavirus is a raw material for good literature.

The first thing that appears will certainly be superficial and trivial. "

The two men agreed that the epidemic had changed our understanding of ourselves, and that humans were "extremely arrogant."

Vargas Llosa said, "We had a feeling that we were in control of nature and that it was in our service, no longer keeping secrets or threats, and we were very surprised."

"We know now that this is not the case, and that there is a need for more investment in scientific research and better health systems," the German president added.

He called for lessons to be learned and a little normalcy that we can recover.

The German president highlighted the process of learning the scientific method, as "the truth remains true until it contradicts another truth. It is a process of learning that this must also be allowed for politics." He said that politicians were learning - during the pandemic - quickly what works and what does not work. .

"Politics has been learned and corrected. This cultural progress is not bad at all," he said.

A few months have passed in which political decisions have had immediate and massive repercussions on the lives of citizens, according to the Spanish newspaper El País.

Steinmeier explains that "politics has never been as tangible as it was in recent months," and he does not believe that the risk of a drift toward authoritarianism exists, despite the adoption of exceptional measures and restrictions on rights and freedoms, saying, "We have a vigilant civil society that will not accept this path."