- Title: IRAQ: Baghdad hosts its first international book fair since 2003
- Date: 5th May 2011
- Summary: BAGHDAD, IRAQ (MAY 3, 2011) (REUTERS) YOUTHS WALKING TOWARDS BOOK FAIR ENTRANCE SIGN READING "BAGHDAD INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR" VARIOUS OF WOMAN LOOKING AT BOOKS SIGN ON SHELF READING "MEDICINE" WOMEN LOOKING AT BOOKS ON SHELVES PEOPLE BUYING BOOKS VARIOUS OF WOMEN LOOKING AT BOOKS VARIOUS OF BOOKS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SANAR MUHSIN, AN IRAQI CITIZEN, SAYING: ''I was hoping that this would be more like a book fair, but unfortunately what I found was individual shops selling books. I was hoping to find Arab and international publishing houses that can offer me, the reader suitably priced books. Actually the Ministry of Culture and the Iraqi government are responsible for this. In particular, for us, the people who came out of this ordeal, we hoped that the Iraqi government would work on restoring the infrastructure of Iraqi culture, where books are something important.'' VARIOUS OF PEOPLE BUYING BOOKS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MALIK, REPRESENTATIVE OF AL-JAMAL PUBLISHING HOUSE HOUSE, SAYING: ''We, as publishing houses are unable to reduce the prices because firstly, the price per meter (at the pavilion) is 85 dollars, besides the additional shelving which reached 20 dollars. Secondly and at times the books are not published in Iraq, they're published abroad in Germany and in Beirut. The printing is excellent and you can't see this kind of printing in Baghdad. After the fall of the regime Iraqis got used to one thing and that was copying books, and then in the wake of the fall of the regime in 2003, Iraqis found that their huge printing houses were burned, and the reader couldn't find a printing house. Thirdly, the economic situation for an Iraqi is very poor.'' PEOPLE BROWSING BOOKS WOMEN BUYING BOOKS ATTENDANTS INSIDE BOOK FAIR
- Embargoed: 20th May 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Iraq
- City:
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Lifestyle
- Reuters ID: LVAEAA4M2H5CKBVSS566IP9EX7BZ
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- Story Text: Iraq is known for its rich literary heritage and for producing many esteemed writers, and now the capital is hosting an international book fair, the first to be held in Baghdad since the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2003.
Young and old perused the book shelves, looking at the thousands of titles on offer ranging from art and culture to medicine.
More than 33,000 books are available at the fair with many of them coming from publishing houses outside of Iraq.
Despite the number of people flocking to the fair, some said they were disappointed with the prices, saying more should be done to make literature more affordable for Iraqis.
''I was hoping that this would be more like a book fair, but unfortunately what I found was individual shops selling books. I was hoping to find Arab and international publishing houses that can offer me, the reader suitably priced books. Actually the Ministry of Culture and the Iraqi government are responsible for this. In particular, for us, the people who came out of this ordeal, we hoped that the Iraqi government would work on restoring the infrastructure of Iraqi culture, where books are something important,'' said Iraqi citizen Sanar Muhsin.
But publishers say the prices reflect the cost of setting up a stall at the fair and the fact that many of the books are published abroad in other Arab or European countries.
''We as publishing houses are unable to reduce the prices because firstly, the price per meter (at the pavilion) is 85 dollars, besides the additional shelving which reach a cost of 20 dollars. Secondly and at times the books are not published in Iraq, they're published abroad in Germany and in Beirut. The printing is excellent and you can't see this kind of printing in Baghdad,'' said Malik who works for one of the few publishing companies based in Iraq.
''After the fall of the regime Iraqis got used to one thing and that was copying books, and then in the wake of the fall of the regime in 2003, Iraqis found that their huge printing houses were burned, and the reader couldn't find a printing house. Thirdly, the economic situation for an Iraqi is very poor,'' he added.
Representatives from the publishing houses were also quick to point out that they didn't receive any assistance from the Iraqi government to set up their stalls.
Under Saddam Hussein's regime some books, especially on religious and political subjects, were not allowed into Iraq. Books were monitored carefully by the security service, who often banned works on modern-day Iraq, mostly histories and memoirs written by exiles and works by some Shi'ite and Sunni clerics. Even so, books, often printed in Beirut, were smuggled in to the country through Jordan, Syria and Turkey.
Iraq's Director General of the Cultural Affairs Department, Nawfal Abou Ragheef, defended the price of the books on sale, saying they reflect their true value.
He suggested the reason Iraqis were shocked by the prices is down to the fact that they have been alienated from the literary market for so many years.
''How can the prices be expensive, and yet still achieve this marketability and sales? I think the problems come from the inability of the Iraqi intellectuals to connect with the cultural scene after decades, and after this alienation they think that the prices are high or more than necessary because they're not used to dealing with these prices,'' said Abou Ragheef, as people browsed books behind him.
Book sellers say the local book publishing and marketing sectors, which came to a standstill at the height of Iraq's sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007, is now booming.
In the early days after the fall of Saddam Hussein, there was a surge of interest in religious books, book sellers at the fair said. Interest has increased lately in secular subjects, including development, politics, history and linguistics, they said.
Most of the books at the fair are written by authors elsewhere in the region, but Iraqi authors are beginning to write too, especially exiled Iraqis writing abroad, said one book seller.
The book fair runs through until Thursday May 5. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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