Anne Frank's Diary: Prose and Politics

Francine Prose's recently-released book, Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife, is yet another "book about a book" (which I always find fascinating). But perhaps because of her subject, or perhaps because of her argument that the Diary should be read more as literature and less as historical document, Prose's book strikes me as particularly important.

The book examines how Frank herself revised and rewrote the Diary with what Prose calls "literary genius." Frank imagined the book being published, so she reshaped the narrative into more of a novel than a diary. In interviews with National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, Prose addresses the maturity with which Frank handles themes of family dynamics, teenage sexuality, and human nature.

What fascinates me most, however, is the "afterlife" of the story. From the further reshaping Frank's father, Otto, made before publication, to the "adaptations" made for stage and film in the US, the Diary has indeed been used and abused for many different purposes and audiences. The whitewashing of Frank's "Jewishness" in order to make the story more appealing to WASP audiences here in the states is particularly appalling.

Even more disturbing, though, are the attempts at censorship and outright banning of the Diary in schools. A day after the Jerusalem Post published its review of Prose's book, the Daily Star in Lebanon published an Agence France Presse report of the Diary being banned in a private, English-language school in Beirut. A Hizbu'llah spokesman criticized "teaching the so-called tragedy this girl lived" because the tragedies of Lebanese and Palestinians are not taught in schools. 

What? Rather than fight for inclusion of other (Arab) tragedies in classrooms, which I would readily support, Hizbu'llah fights to exclude the tragedy of a (Jewish) girl who was neither Israeli nor Zionist? This is not quite so ridiculous as the Alabama school board who tried to ban the Diary because it was "a real downer" in 1983, but it's close. It seems that Prose has an uphill battle in trying to convince the world that the Diary is a masterpiece worthy of merit for its literary value.

Marketing World Literature

April may be the cruelest month, but October is definitely the biggest month in terms of marketing "World Literature", especially among English-language readers. First, Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall won the Man Booker Prize for the best English-language novel of the year; then, a Romanian writing in German, Herta Muller, was awarded the Nobel Prize from the Swedish Academy; and finally, Oklahoma University and World Literature Today gave the Neustadt International Prize to Chinese poet Duo Duo. It seems that the primary way to market literature from around the world is through literary prizes and literary festivals.

Indeed, October might be renamed "World Literature Month" based on the press releases tied to international awards. In October the Canadian government announced that it would sponsor an International Festival of Authors. In October the Caine Prize for African Writing commenced its 10th Anniversary Tour across the United Kingdom. In October the Man Group revealed the short list for the Man Asian Literary Prize for an "Asian novel unpublished in English." Curiously, although only two of the twenty-four long-listed authors, and one of the five short-listed, are Chinese, the Prize, which is chaired by Irish novelist Colm Toibin, garnered a display in the Hong Kong Pavilion at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the oldest book fair in the world.

The irony here is that even though the Frankfurt Book Fair attempts to increase readership of African, Asian, and Latin American authors within Germany with a new prize next year, its practice of "Guests of Honor" has led to great controversy, most recently involving China. In 2007, the Frankfurt Book Fair designated Catalonia as the "Guest of Honor," but Catalonians writing in Spanish were excluded, and Catalan author Sergi Pamies refused to attend. In 2008 Turkey added its own texts to the scroll of honor (the GastRolle) before passing it on to China this year. Yet again, controversy ensued, as the Chinese government "disinvited" dissident poet and essayist Bei Ling.

So even as Germany wrestles with the difficulties of marketing "World Literature" translated into its own language, also in October Turkey has decided to throw its own hat into the ring. The Istanbul Tannipar Literature Festival began October 31. Its goal is to increase the status of Turkish literature in international circles, and its theme is "City and Time." More irony: Orhan Pamuk, Turkey's Nobel Laureate whose main themes involve both Istanbul and memory, is not a part of the discussion because he has been unofficially exiled for pointing out the Turkish genocide of Armenians and Kurds.

Meanwhile, further east, the Azerbaijan Business Council was proud to announce, also in October, that a few rich Azeris can afford to buy a new series of "World Literature" titles by subscription translated into their native language. And in October one commentator described the difficulties Nepali authors writing in English have in finding an audience, both in their own country and abroad. In sum, October makes me wonder what one has to do to be included in the "song and dance" that is the prize and festival scene in the marketing of "World Literature".

Speaking Spanish, Learning Language

It's been several days now since the Associated Press reported the "No English" ticket scam by police officers in Dallas, Texas. While I haven't been able to shake the horror the story elicited when it first broke, I'm not surprised that it happened. What does shock me, though, is how long it took before people took notice. The international press seemed to be on the case before the national press was. (See the Telegraph article that appeared one day before the New American Media response did).

As a former ESL teacher who worked with adult refugees and immigrants, I can tell you first hand how hard these people work to not only learn English, but also manage the chaos of their own and their families' lives. Moreover, the ridiculous attitude of many "Americans" that they have no obligation to learn another language and/or culture because they are "true Americans" disturbs me to the core. Especially in a state like Texas, where such a significant portion of the population has Spanish as its native language.

The story of Ms. Mondragon, who lived in a city in which 44% of its people are Hispanic, should serve as a call for more foreign-language (in this case, Spanish) education in our schools and training programs. She speaks and understands more English than most "Americans" can demonstrate in any other language, yet for many people the problem will be with her and people like her. The problem, they will argue, is that they need to learn English before they come to the U.S. It is not at all clear how much they should learn, though, or how they should learn it.

Clearly the educational system in the U.S. needs to place a higher priority on language competency, not just in standard English, but also in dialects of English and in foreign languages. But can you imagine what would happen if we had to teach/learn not just English-Only, but primarily Shakespeare's English at that? Seriously! Half-way around the world, in Taiwan, that is exactly what is happening. It seems that the U.S. is not alone in its linguistic conservatism in the classroom.

According to a Taipei Times article, Chinese textbooks used in Taiwan's schools must include 65% Classical Chinese effective next year. Classical Chinese, at least in its poetry, reached its zenith during the 8th century C.E. in the Tang dynasty. Think about that: it's as if we still used the same language as the poet of Beowulf! Now for me, as a cultural consumer, it would be much easier if I could master Classical Chinese and communicate over a larger area of the world. But would I want an educated traveler to miss the diversity of the U.S., not to mention the U.K., just to make it easier on him or her to be conversant in Shakespeare's English? I think not....