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Cultural blender

Writer and cultural editor of Al Safir, Abbas Beydoun talks about the effect of war on literature and on the Lebanese.

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You don't seem to like my Dictaphone...

It's not that I'm afraid of machines but these things immortalize your mistakes. A recorder is something that can perpetuate your mistake. Not that what I say is infallible, but everything one says tends towards mistakes, as a lot of what is said is said for impact.

What kind of impact have you had on the local culture?

It's a confusing question essentially because it is difficult to understand what the country's culture is. Even more confusing is the country itself, its movements and politics. All these are a mystery to me. But despite this, Lebanon has produced a culture suitable to its role. It's one of the few countries in the world that was forced into having a role through its imposed social structure.

A unique social structure? What do you mean?

Its role is that of a mediator between two worlds. This role has kept both worlds intact. What I'm saying is the locals know as much Arabic as they do French or English and they know all these languages well. Furthermore, the foreign languages we learn actually strengthen our Arabic. We have the capacity to overcome educational tradition. We're certainly a traditional country in our everyday life but when it comes to our minds we can face tradition down with ease. We're a bit snobbish actually but that's still better than conservatism.