Michel Faber: 'Writing is an act of protest' #wu17

It was a beautiful and disarming lecture by Australian-Dutch writer Michel Faber, yesterday at the Friday Night Unlimited of the literary festival Winternachten, in his hometown The Hague. His lecture was on 'Fiction in times of fake'. 'Before I start making lofty statements about literature and what literature is capable of in today's world, I want to be open with you, Faber said. 'I myself read virtually no fiction. I don't turn to fiction for comfort and (dis)excitement. I find that in music.'

'And now I'm standing here giving a lecture on literature,' he continued a little later. 'Does that make me a charlatan? I hope not. Throughout my career, I have tried to write literature with depth, literature that penetrates to the essence, without sneaky gimmicks or cheap effects. I have tried to write novels and short stories worth felling trees for. I have tried to offer an alternative to obtuse disposable entertainment.'

Machine with man as fuel

The mega-capitalism we created has now become a machine that uses us as fuel, Faber believes. A system that, in order to survive, however, must not look harsh. It allows people to fulfil all their desires comfortably and with minimum effort. But, Faber reminded us, "On the face of it, mega-capitalism appears to respect and honour our individuality, our right to have everything served to us in our own way, seamlessly tailored to our unique needs, but in reality, there has never been a period in history when the society within which we function has cared so little about us as individuals. We are deeply buried in our illusion that we fly free.'

Meanwhile, we ease our conscience by buying organic produce and anti-capitalist books, and deposit our money in a 'green' or 'social' bank. Even an organisation like IS, which claims to want to wipe capitalism to the ground, is only too happy to make use of its achievements, such as mobile phones, the internet and masses of money.

Writing, reading, listening and thinking

What can we do to still resist the excesses of modern society, Faber wondered. 'I'll give you four things, he said: we can write, we can read, we can listen and we can think.' Really listening, thinking, taking other views to ourselves and considering them, helps to determine 'about who we really are, what we really want and don't want, where we came from and where we are going, what is important and what is not.'

And "so little value is placed on careful, patient and dedicated writing by mega-capitalism," he told his audience, "that the very act of writing itself is an act of protest.

Haven

In today's world, anyone who cares about truth, depth and the exchange of ideas, stories, visions and experiences is a refugee, Faber said. After all, a refugee is someone who seeks refuge, a safe place that can serve as an alternative to the former home with which things have gone so horribly wrong. 'A festival like Winternachten is a refugee seeking sanctuary away from all the bad news, and we are refugees who, for the short time in which we can share this space, comfort ourselves with the thought that the world has plenty of intelligent, reasonable people.'

For all refugees who would like an evening of refuge: the Winternachtenfestival continues until Sunday, Theater aan het Spui, The Hague.