Sounds and Scenes from Nawal El Saadawi’s London Tour: ‘Creativity is Common Sense’
Egyptian author Nawal El Saadawi’s final London event is at 7 p.m. tonight, at Waterstones Piccadilly. The sold-out book launch follows a half-dozen packed events that took place across England’s capital:
Tomorrow, El Saadawi will travel to Bristol for that city’s Festival of Ideas, the last stop in her UK tour.
El Saadawi is the author of more than fifty books, the most successful of which are her memoirs. The most-translated Arab author after Mahfouz, El Saadawi has long struck a chord with Anglophone feminist audiences. This tour, which coincides with the rerelease of three of her books, seems to have drawn in even more fans.
The October 27 event coincided with the author’s 84th birthday, and she is certainly getting no less popular in English. The author, who has both committed fans and critics, struck a deep chord with English audiences, who have been filling social media with quotes and photos from her talks.
@alice_wroe: Utter privilege to hear Nawal El Saadawi speak this eve at The Book Club. Especially loved her take on where courage comes from “It is does not come over night- courage is accumulated”
@__JFran__: Inspired beyond words by Nawal El Saadawi tonight, in conversation at @HousmansBooks
@JillNicholls01: Here she is – least self censored woman in the world! Nawal El Saadawi doing her thing @frontlineclub
@whohearer: “Life is very hard. The only people who really live are those who are harder than life itself.” ~ Nawal El-Saadawi
@mcortonscott: ‘Creativity is common sense’ – the amazing, wonderful inspiration that is Nawal El Saadawi speaking in LDN tonight 🌸
Listen to El Saadawi:
Writeups:
In The Guardian: Nawal El Saadawi: Egypt’s radical feminist
From the Frontline Club: Religion, Feminism, and Egyptian Politics