CREATING SPACE FOR UNINHIBITED VOICES:  EMIRATES AIRLINE LITERATURE FESTIVAL- DUBAI FESTIVAL CITY, MARCH 1-13, 2016

The Emirates Airline Literature Festival, known as LitFest, is now in its eighth year and is heralded as the only festival of its kind within the Gulf Region. With its international reputation still developing, the festival came under public scrutiny in 2016 when British children’s author Jonathon Emmet launched a boycott campaign titled “Think Twice”. In The Guardian, Emmett argued for the boycott of the festival on three points: free speech, human rights, and rather incongruously, climate change. His quarrel lay specifically with the sponsorship: Emirates Airlines and patron Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai. Emmett’s boycott is not without precedent. In 2009, British author Geraldine Bedell claimed her first novel, The Gulf Between Us, had been banned from launch at the Festival.  She cited homosexual activity and governmental criticism as the reasons for the ban. In political sympathy, headliner Margaret Atwood pulled out from the festival in response. However, it soon emerged that Bedell’s novel had not been banned at all, but rather dismissed as the first uneven work of an unknown author, and Atwood recanted her accusations.  She appeared at the festival via videoconference  and publically praised Festival CEO Isobel Abulhoul  for her transparent responses to Atwood’s queries. Abdulhoul, working alongside Sheikh Mohammed, appears dedicated to ensuring free expression at the festival, while developing an international reputation for integrity.

Feminist authors Marjane Satrapi, Nawal El Saadawi, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Rajaa al Sanea have spoken at the festival, providing legitimacy, but also evidence of the struggle of the festival to gain validity. It does not seem simply an attempt to appease dissenters: one intersectional feminist academic might be tokenism, but the sustained theme instead conveys a conscious decision on behalf of the organizer, owner, and by extension, the UAE. Guyanese-British poet Grace Nichols, Pakistani Imtiaz Dhaker and British Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy continued the trend in 2016. Also present were Arab feminist intellectuals. Dubai Women’s Museum founder Rafia Ghubash spoke on a panel about the changing role of women in the Gulf, recanting accusations of the region’s oppression of women. The names suggest the Emirates literature festival is curated to portray freedom of expression, which is discordant with the reputation of the country. Abdulhoul and Sheikh Mohammed select authors whose reputations negate accusations made by dissenters such as Emmet.

Duffy’s presence at the 2016 festival was indicative of the festival’s attempts to provide a liberal space for expression and discussion. The UAE’s policies towards homosexuality are heavily publicized - homosexual acts can incur the death penalty. In 2008, a visiting lesbian couple was detailed for one month for kissing on a beach. How then, can LitFest persuade LGBT writer and activist Duffy to attend the event and turn a blind eye to her sexually explicit, pro-LGBT rights and openly feminist work? Duffy, in response to the 2016 shootings at a gay nightclub in Orlando, USA, penned the poem “Gay Love”, stating “God is Gay”, perhaps the most controversial three word combination in the Arab world. LitFest is a calculated effort of Sheikh Mohammed’s wasta (an Arabic term for influence/bribery). With money or prestige no rules apply, and many expatriate or high-ranking Emirati can attest this hypocrisy. While Emmett might cast aspersions on the patronage of the festival, Sheik Mohammed’s involvement actually grants the festival immunity by his name and position: the inclusivity of the festival is a direct result of his wasta.  

While the 2016 LitFest strived to create a microcosm of expression within a culture of oppression, there remained elements of jarring discordance as a result of the patronage.  Rather than censorship, branding and capitalism flavoured the event unevenly. In the first inaugural Sir Maurice Flanagan Poetry Diwan (Flanagan being the former CEO of the airline), Duffy read a selection of her poetry with great wit and vigor while accompanied by  ‘court musician’ John Sampson on a selection of medieval instruments. The event opened rather incongruously, as Duffy’s feminist verses were framed with perfunctory Arabic speech delivered by an impressive character in traditional Islamic dress. The audience, who appeared to be mostly Dubai housewives and the odd teacher, were nonplussed by the occurrence, despite their probable incomprehension. Duffy, a seasoned performer, had no problem adapting to the eccentricities of her event. The venue of her performance also seemed dissonant. While most events took place in the well-heeled Intercontinental Hotel, Duffy read unceremoniously inside the NOVO theatre at Festival City Shopping Mall. After the performance, Duffy’s poetry was for sale next to the concession stand, while the poet herself was available to sign autographs amidst the aroma of popcorn. Festival-goers could then have their photo taken with Emirates flight attendants and even don a veiled cap or pilot’s hat. Moments like this proved the dependence of a noncompliant festival on the veneer of capitalism. In order for the festival to proceed, the event and the literature it promoted needed to be rebranded to fit the luxury image of Dubai, its insurgent voice rippling beneath the glaze of wealth leant by both Emirates Airline and Sheikh Mohammed.

Shiekh Mohammed has a reputation for moderate liberalism, which is furthered by his own direct involvement in the arts, both as a poet and a philanthropist. His eponymous, non-profit, cultural centre uses the slogan ‘Open Doors. Open Minds’, evidencing his interest in freedom of expression and ideas. His decision to support the festival can be read as a recognition of literature’s ability to insidiously challenge oppressive conventions and lead countries to change. His patronage, and deft  appropriation of capitalist forms, allows the festival to continue in its uncensored, probably unprofitable state, building cultural capital and offering space for uninhibited voices.

Works Cited

Bedell, Geraldine. “The only offensive thing about my novel is that it’s been banned.” The Guardian. 17 February (2009). <https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/feb/17/dubai-literary     -festival-bedell-ban> Web. 1 September 2016.

Duffy, Carol Ann. “After Orlando: Gay Love, a poem by Carol Ann Duffy.” The Guardian. 16 June 2016.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/16/after-orlando-gay-love-a-poem-by-carol-ann-duffy Web. 4 September 2016

Emmett, Jonathon. “Why authors and illustrators should think twice about going to Dubai lit fest.” The Guardian. 27 January (2016). <https://www.theguardian.com/childrens    -books-site/2016/jan/27/authors-and-illustrators-think-twice-emirates-airline-festival-of-literature-dubai> Web. 1 September 2016.