Annons
VICE: Can you briefly describe how events at Tuesday's conference unfolded, after you heard about the attacks in Brussels?You cannot stop your brain from working because some terrorists want to paralyse society and each of its members with fear and sadness.
Andrey Kurkov: Unsurprisingly, the programme was changed. Instead of starting with the reading of an essay and then moving on to discussing it, we started by referencing the conversation we had the evening before. The topic was the writer's role in times of war and crisis. We eventually went back to following the programme but the events of the morning were regularly present in conversations throughout the day.Why was it decided to continue with the conference, and what do you think of that decision?
The seminar will go on partially and without evening sessions. You cannot stop your brain from working because some terrorists want to paralyse society and each of its members with fear and sadness. The terrorists' actions affected our list of priorities in terms of conversation topics, but to stop any activity is to give in, to show that they are winning. Conference is not entertainment – I find being together with other writers in moments like this very important and enriching.What and how should writers and journalists write about attacks like this?
For journalists the most important thing is facts – like how many were killed and how many were wounded. Writers should not hurry to compete with journalists – they have right to act as "doctors" or "analysts" in light of the events. But the way each writer reacts, what they write or do apart from or instead of writing – that's up to the writer. This tragedy will now take on the form of a serious political, social and psychological issue and it will be the case for a while. So the texts that will appear in this time will also be political, social and psychoanalytical. But what writers should do first is fight hate – it's to avoid letting pain turn into hate among those who were most touched by the events.