Although many are disparaging of the “hasty literature” to have come out of Arab countries since December 2010 (from Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, and beyond), I find some of it quite compelling. Perhaps Ismee Sowra by Mona Prince or Samar Yazbek’s Woman in the Crossfire are not the literature of the ages, but they are a literature of the moment.
In this manner, Amir and Khalil, a writer and a comics artist, seized a moment in Iran in 2009. I was interested in how they did it. From the Egypt Independent:
“Zahra’s Paradise,” a graphic novel released last September, was inspired by the energy and hope of the 2009 Iranian uprising. The project documents both Iran’s mass protests and their aftermath; and although its characters are fictional, it pays serious attention to historical detail, and thus is not unlike Joe Sacco’s documentary graphic novel, “Palestine.”
But, “Zahra’s Paradise,” written between 2009 and 2011, is unique in that it was produced both rapidly and “live”: Amir and Khalil published their work on a website, in a dozen languages, three times a week.
Khalil, an acclaimed Algerian-American comic artist, is the project’s illustrator. Amir, an Iranian-American who has worked in academia and human rights, is the author. For various reasons, they have chosen not to go by their full names, but by the joint moniker “Amir and Khalil.”
The book is now coming out in print editions, language by language, with the newest edition, Turkish, scheduled for release in September. It disappointingly has not yet appeared in Arabic. Arabic was one of the 12 languages in which it appeared online, but the work is yet to be published in a full, thorough Arabic edition.
Khalil was particularly interested in an Arabic-language version, as he considered it part of his “mission as an Arab to educate the Arabs, who thought they knew what was going on in Iran.” He continues his search for an interested publisher.
Both author and illustrator spoke to Egypt Independent at the recent Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, where they were welcomed by an enthusiastic reception. They spoke of what inspired “Zahra’s Paradise,” and how putting together a graphic novel, a form that was still new for both Amir and Khalil back in 2009, could be democratic.
The pair was spurred to produce the graphic novel after watching the mass protests in Iran and the brutal crackdown that followed. They felt a wave of energy, Khalil says, and “we definitely jumped … It was just an instinctive reaction on the part of Amir.” After that, they quickly found a publisher, and it was the publisher’s idea to serialize the comic. Translators then came on board. Comments on the website, particularly from Iranian readers, spurred Amir and Khalil to continue.
The collaboration began, Khalil says, because they felt “Tehran was so desperate to communicate with the world.” Both had a love for the Iranian people and felt connected to all the bloggers, human rights workers, and citizen journalists who were working to document Iran’s complex story.
“We were part of that chain of communication, and thus the birth of this work,” he adds. “We feel we are the co-authors of this book. The people in Iran are really the authors.”
“The heart of the effort was an act of solidarity with the Iranian people,” Amir adds.
“Zahra’s Paradise” follows the search for Mehdi, a (fictional) young protestor who disappeared during the 2009 protests. His mother and brother refuse to let him go, however, and try to follow his path through harrowing scenes of rebellion and repression. Amir and Khalil felt, almost immediately after the events in Iran in 2009, that the graphic novel medium was the best way to communicate this story.
“In a way,” Amir says, “the graphic novel is the fastest, easiest, cheapest way to communicate.”
Khalil says that the entire process was collaborative. “It takes several waves,” he says. “We can see the rough story, the rough words. We come back with the fine-tooth comb, make it a little tighter … it becomes very precise after a while. Only then, when we have something that is put together very tightly, can I do the drawings.” Keep reading.
You have a knack for presenting complicated issues in a nutshell, M!
While passionate experiences “recollected in tranquility”, may carry more weight, publishing thoughts and reactions in the heat of the moment also has much to commend it. Finding publishers who are willing to invest in making available the immediacy of a moment or issue is a daunting task. A challenge for the risk-takers out there in the publishing world?