TEHRAN – Writer and literary critic Ali Shorooghi says the crisis of the audience is the main problem of our literature today.
The recipient of the Mehregan of Literature award for his novel “Iron Curtain” said the crisis has various reasons.
The audience of writers of our generation has been less than that of older generations, and the authors of the newer generation are less known among the general audience compared to the older authors, he said.
“In the space where we are all the same, every writer collects 400-500 readers of his kind in different ways. With virtual networks and various advertising methods that exist, authors can advertise for themselves; but when we distance ourselves from this space and enter the street, we see that there is no such audience.”
As for the audience crisis, he cited the audit being applied to literature, especially Iranian fiction, as the reason.
“The sensitivities that exist in terms of auditing limit the hands of the writers in choosing the themes of their stories, where they cannot write many things or they cannot go into many details.
“Many things are red lines and cannot be touched. This issue has a great impact on introducing our literature and cannot satisfy the different tastes of the audience,” he said.
Another issue that again relates to the audit is the lack of introduction of new writers in the media that have a large audience.
“You don’t see new writers on TV … Among journalists, the number of those who deal with the book and its issues is small. The fewer the number of pages of the publications, naturally the number of pages that review and introduce the book will be less.”
Shorooghi said another reason is that the Iranian literature has not been able to be introduced to world literature, because the country is not a member of copyright protection organizations.
“Our literature has not entered into a dynamic relationship with the literature of the world. I want to say that it is not just about the quality of the works, but these things are also important and the author is not the main culprit.”
Regarding the effect of virtual networks on the audience, he said the issue of the crisis of the audience may not only be a problem Iran, adding it might be a global issue, although not as severe as in Iran.
“We are living in a world where social networks are really prevalent and pervasive. Literature or text that is produced in virtual space is completely different from the world of novels and literature. The novel requires reflection and patience, but in the virtual space, everything comes and goes quickly, and the audience of this space does not have time to linger and reflect.
“Everything is presented to the audience with haste, and naturally, this is not without impact. This is not just Iran’s problem, it is a more comprehensive problem,” he said.