In the aftermath of the attacks of October 7, 2023, the writer was, in France, one of the first Palestinian intellectuals to speak out. Apart from a few forums, and participation in television shows, he has become increasingly rare, because, he says, “words are running out”.
Palestinian and fiction writer, Karim Kattan preferred to stay away from the political-media scene “delirious” et “mined”. Born in Jerusalem in 1989, the novelist, holder of a doctorate in comparative literature, has lived in France for around fifteen years. His first novel, the Palace of the Hills (Elyzad, 2021), won the prize of the five continents of the Francophonie. In the same Tunisian publishing house, his second novel was published on August 30.Eden at dawn.
How did you get through this year of never-ending war and destruction?
It is very difficult to take the necessary step back to say how I experienced it personally. The term I use a lot these days is daze. At first, there was astonishment, then horror. The horror, both in the face of the abuses and also in the face of the reactions, particularly political and media, that I saw in France. It’s all exhausting. I don’t see where we are going. I don’t understand.
Every day brings its share of completely crazy new information. Each delusional piece of information erases the other. As Israel has intelligently barred access to Gaza, there is no narrative that emerges. The ban on foreign journalists entering prevents the construction of an iconography of devastation. Which means that, when we talk about the “flour massacre”, which was a very important moment, it seems distant, almost forgotten.
Same with prison rape accusations or many other notable moments in recent months. They follow one another and do not constitute a whole in our mind. Later, when the time comes to have to look at what has been done in its entirety, it will be very difficult.
In February, on AOC Media, you published the poem When midnight comes. Has it been midnight for you since October 7, 2023?
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