Stories that Connect Us

Elif Shafak speaks so eloquently about the politics of fiction that I wish I could write something that was powerful and moving that wasn't also about me. Of course, that's her message. That fiction reveals our humanity and therefore even if it isn't about "me" it still is. She says it so beautifully: "knowledge that does not take us beyond ourselves" makes us "elitists, distant and disconnected." Being self-centered is worse than being ignorant.

However, I disagreed with a key point in her talk. Identity performance and thus identity politics isn't about building walls. It's about exploring the spaces in between the walls: identities that have been marginalized. That's another way to get out of the same cultural ghettos that she discussed.

Apparently, she was prosecuted for the words of a fictional character in her novel. She asserts that it's just a story. I thought of the controversy around Blu's Hanging where for some reason all the Filipino characters are molesters and drug users. Yet, fictional or not, when these authors write what they feel, they expand their hearts, our hearts. It puts alot at stake. She quotes James Baldwin, "There's nothing in me that is not in everyone else and nothing in everyone else that is not in me" With fiction and performance art, it may be controversial but it's not actually divisive.

I shared this talk with my speech students and I was a little disappointed that they didn't appreciate it as much as I did. For some reason, they think they value entertainment value (often this means the person is talking fast) over clarity (which often means the person is talking slowly). They made the same comment about another speaker. They said he spoke slower to make his speech longer, instead of realizing he wanted his message to be clear. She was exactly what she is: a storyteller. She introduced herself, helped the audience relate to her, gave examples, and quoted other authors and philosophers. She clearly enunciated, made purposeful gestures, and neither talked too fast or too slow. I found her message inspirational: I feel therefore I am free. I think also some understanding comes with listening and practice listening.