Writer Sara Joseph on Thursday called writing a not so easy activity.
“The weight of what has been written before me is on me when I write. There is also this endless internal conflict. Then there is helplessness and the protest and resistance against the large wounds created by the denial of justice in society. This is what leads to a good work of literature,” she said at the closing event of the national seminar organised by the Malayalam department of Maharaja’s College.
When she started writing, there were serious male critics who said criticism was not a woman’s forte. Their argument was that women were powerless to authentically evaluate a work. But several women critics have emerged on the scene later on, she said.
Ms. Joseph said that all good writings stemmed from the conflicts created by denial of social justice. Thakazhi Sivasankara PIllai’s Thottiyude Makan was written well before Dalit criticism gained strength. Therefore, Thakazhi had to fashion a language for his work.
“A writer is driven to the writing table by the denial of justice to the people pushed to the fringes of society. And, when the process of writing begins, they realise the impediments to expression created by the hierarchical structures in language. The problem of gender justice in language was first raised by Periyar in Tamil. This inspired me to create new words that bring in gender justice. We still have anti-women and anti-Dalit words in our language because we don’t have a life of gender equality. When we shun such words, we are, by extension, rejecting life characterised by gender dominance,” she said.
Ms. Joseph also shared her angst over the loss of scientific temper, sense of history, and the erosion of the idea of India. “That the country chose to join hands with a nation that is carrying out a heinous war makes me hang my head in shame. I recall the national movement during my childhood. How unscientific it is for a country to calculate its GDP by putting together a big corporation’s wealth and the pittance earned by an auto driver. The writers are incapable of offering tangible solutions to these problems. But their job is to create a world where justice prevails,” she said.
Ms. Joseph, known for her feminist works, said she looked at the word, Pennezhuth (women writing) with respect. “It is a Dravidian word in which ‘women’ are also present. The school of writing is infinite and will be on until the time all inequalities are erased,” she said.
Vice Principal Pooja Balasundaram presided over the event. Syndicate member S. Shajila Beevi, M.S. Murali, Malayalam department head Sumy Joy Oliapuram, and seminar coordinator J. Kumar spoke.
