There is no official censorship in literature, but I feel a certain fear when I see that a kind of self-censorship is developing in Poland. Authors are somehow afraid of expressing what they really think or feel because they fear political consequences.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the dangers of self-censorship and the fear of expressing true thoughts in the face of political repercussions.
Olga Tokarczuk highlights the subtle yet profound issue of self-censorship in literature, pointing out that while formal censorship may not exist, an environment of fear and political consequence can inhibit authors from freely expressing their thoughts and feelings. This fear can stifle creativity and undermine the integrity of literary expression, suggesting a deeper societal problem where authors must navigate their freedom of speech cautiously.
In practice
During a literary festival, one may quote this to discuss the importance of free expression among writers.
But the fact is we did have colonies in the east of Poland, we did have a slave economy there. But this is not common knowledge - or part of our national myth. It goes against the current romanticised view of the government, and much of the country, that Poles have always been victims, never oppressors.
My books are not 'political.' I don't make political demands. They actually describe life. But when we look at human life, politics creeps in everywhere.
I think that first-person narration is very characteristic of contemporary optics, in which the individual performs the role of subjective center of the world.
The world is a fabric we weave daily on the great looms of information, discussions, films, books, gossip, little anecdotes.
I first read Sigmund Freud's 'Beyond the Pleasure Principle' as a young girl, and it helped me to understand that there are thousands of possible ways to interpret our experience, that everything has a meaning, and that interpretation is the key to reality. This was the first step to becoming a writer.
Well-written novels make you more empathetic towards other people. You can identify with someone who isn't you. You can change your identity. A 14-year-old boy can become Anna Karenina. It is a miracle.
A modern fleet of ships does not so much make use of the sea as exploit a highway.
All the higher life forms scythed away, just like that. [ . . . ] Nothing but dust and fundamentalists.
The public good is in nothing more essentially interested, than in the protection of every individual's private rights.
You try to pull away the experiences until you get to the core of humanity, and you find that light that exists in everybody. It's that light that I'm searching for in all of my work - is that connective thing, that ether that enters all of us - you know what I mean? That's a part of God.
God promised to make you free. He never promised to make you independent.
Yet food is something that is taken for granted by most world leaders despite the fact that more than half of the population of the world is hungry.
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