Literature and Humor Conference:
The Trickster and His Subversive Tales
Tell us about the conference on Literature and Humor: The Trickster and His Subversive Tales. What are the aims of this conference?
Humor focuses on the human as its producer and butt of ridicule. Whenever we laugh at the end of a joke we laugh at the human subject in it or the element in it that reminds us of the human world and its inhabitants—that’s to say us, human beings. Have you ever caught yourself laughing at a mountain? A tree? Or your own dining table? If you have, I would be worried about you and may have to refer you to Dr. Talaat Matar, professor of Psychiatry and member of our own Editorial Board. So we laugh at what is human or reminds us of humans, and as such we find ourselves dealing with the raw material for literary works. Humor also tends to be frivolous and does not shy away from using wordplay, and this also falls within the jurisdiction of literature.
Why did you choose to organize a conference on Literature and Humor?
The primary focus of this online conference, organized by the Journal of Arabic and World Literature at Andromeda Publishing and Academic Services (London, UK) is on humor and the tricksters as they are treated in Middle Eastern literatures in different periods. I have chosen this topic as it yokes together a good many Middle Eastern literatures: Arabic, Persian, Turkish, among others, and in this way presents us, academics and researchers, with an opportunity to explore interlinks and inter-associations amongst these national literatures and the way each treats so human a topic like humor / laughter. Another reason for choosing this topic is the fact that we need some relief as we suffer from death and the fear of contagion because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions it has imposed on on our movement and activities. We need a relief, better a comic relief as we find in the Shakespearean tragedies.
What are your expectations for the conference?
We expect participants in this conference to explore interdisciplinary themes related to multiple humorous and satirical narratives, presenting the various sets of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish treatment of the trickster character in order to identify cross-temporal and trans-local conceptualizations of the comic manifestation in samples of high literature as well as in folk narratives. We expect, and encourage, the participants to engage in a dialogue between classical and modern conceptualizations of the comic, while questioning their boundaries.
Who will be the keynote speakers?
We will soon announce the names of some serious-minded scholars to talk to us about humor and its place in the different literary traditions.
Are you planning to publish the conference proceedings?
We definitely are planning to publish the papers in our Journal of Arabic and World Literature. We encourage academics and researchers to send us their abstracts and secure a place for them in the upcoming conference.
Are Juha’s tales the central focus of the conference?
Yes, indeed. Let me explain. The image of the trickster in world culture is multifaceted, morally ambiguous but fully human. It is fixed and described not only on the material of ancient mythologies and folk epics, but also in medieval and modern literature. The legendary Juha, as the embodiment of the characteristic trickster, is the most popular folk hero in the Middle East, Central Asia, the Balkans, Russia, Transcaucasia, etc. There are some regional variations on his name. The Turks, Greeks, Serbs, Croatians, and Albanians call him Nasreddin Hoja. In Iran and the modern-day republics of Azerbaijan and Georgia, he is called Molla or Mulla Nasreddin. Some of the tales attributed to Nasreddin originate in the Arab world, where the trickster is called Juha, Joha or Goha. In Central Asia, Nasreddin is known as Ependi, Afandi, Hoja or Qoja Nasreddin. Through Uighur adaptations, the trickster reached modern China where he became Afanti. And in Sicily he is known as Giufà. Although Juha usually appears as an ambivalent figure and demonstrates contradictory traits of his character, he is loved by both grown-ups and children in all corners of the world.
It would be great if some of you could imagine Juha as your contemporary next-door neighbor, using a mobile, a car (instead of his slow donkey), married to a career woman (not his patient wife), and taking his son skiing. Would your contemporary Juha have an Instagram, upload videos of his humorous tales? Would we still laugh at his anecdotes?
What is the importance of humor and satire in literature?
Satire matters. It is a mirror against which we see what is unpleasant about our current affairs. This kind of reflection (pun is intended here) is of paramount importance, as it urges us to improve our world.