And the Prize goes to…Warmongers!

Suchitra, Bhakti, and Madhuri examine a year of prize scandals, immoral literary institutions and inappropriate red carpet galas. They ask why the genocide in Gaza has not been a red line for many prestigious literary institutions who have insisted on going about business as usual. They look at how literary institutions, prize committees, cultural events and writers themselves are complicit in perpetuating imperialist power structures and silencing dissenting voices. They highlight the ways in which these institutions, through both overt actions and subtle inactions, reveal their allegiance to oppressive systems. They break down the controversies that have rocked prominent literary organizations and awards in North America, such as PEN America, Giller Prize, and the Dan David Prize amongst others, further exposing their failure to take a firm stand on Palestine. The hosts also address the broader critique of performative activism in the literary world.

The episode interrogates the role and responsibilities of a writer, publishers and institutions during an ongoing genocide, and emphasizes an urgent reimagining for the way that literary and cultural institutions and ecosystems should function. It urges the literary industry to push forward the cultural boycott of Israel, and actively participate in creating ethical, radical spaces for resistance and solidarity.

Keywords: Palestine, Gaza, literary awards, PEN America, Guernica, Giller Prize, Dan David Prize, JCB Prize, PACBI, cultural boycott, Palestinian literature, literary institutions, genocide, resistance, solidarity, zionist apologia

Key Takeaways:

• The ongoing genocide in Gaza perpetuated by Israel has exposed and unmasked the literary world as they were faced with controversies over their stance on the genocide. Many writers and organizations have called on for the boycott of institutions who continue to not address the genocide on Gaza and maintain their close ties with Israel.
• The Giller Prize and PEN America, in particular, have recently faced serious backlash for their financial sponsorships and allegiance to institutionalised oppressive systems.
• The impact of cultural production and its political implications by literary organizations on state violence is sanitized by manufacturing harmful narratives of tip-toeing around neutrality and zionist apologia.
• The role of a writer comes into question during an ongoing genocide and genocide must be a red line in cultural and literary production. There is a moral imperative to engage in ethical publishing and reject affiliations with systems abetting oppression and violence.
• Literary organizations must understand the significance of the cultural boycott of Israel and the necessity of signing on to PACBI.

References:

• Gaza! Gaza! Gaza! https://arablit.org/tag/gaza-gaza-gaza/
• Read Palestine Week 2024 https://arablit.org/2024/11/29/join-read-palestine-week-2024/
• Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) call for boycott https://bdsmovement.net/pacbi/pacbi-call
• Publishers for Palestine https://publishersforpalestine.org/
• Writers Against the War on Gaza https://www.writersagainstthewarongaza.com/
• The Palestinian Festival of Literature https://www.palfest.org/
• PEN America doesn’t prioritize incarcerated writers by Natalye Childress (Prism Reports) https://prismreports.org/2024/06/17/pen-america-doesnt-prioritize-incarcerated-writers/
• Why isn’t PEN America paying its incarcerated literary prize winners? By Natalye Childress & Alex Tretbar (Prism Reports) https://prismreports.org/2024/04/17/pen-america-isnt-paying-incarcerated-prize-winners/
• Giller Foundation boycott call https://lithub.com/the-giller-prize-has-dropped-the-scotiabank-name-but-not-the-money/
• PEN America call for boycott https://www.writersagainstthewarongaza.com/boycott-pen-america
• JCB Prize controversy over bulldozer demolition row https://maktoobmedia.com/india/over-100-writers-translators-protest-hypocrisy-of-jcb-literature-prize-citing-complicity-in-bulldozer-demolitions-in-india-palestine/

Reject Dan David Prize Over Its Complicity in Israeli Apartheid https://bdsmovement.net/news/palestinians-urge-recipients-reject-dan-david-prize-over-its-complicity-israeli-apartheid

A podcast by The Polis Project https://www.thepolisproject.com/