The Desert and The Novel with Ibrahim El-Koni in Abu Dhabi

In all the works of the esteemed novelist Ibrahim Al-Koni, the desert stands as a rich arena for the grand human epic. How did Al-Koni manage to extract meaning from the void—what the desert represents in terms of barrenness, harshness, and emptiness—and turn it into fertile ground for narrative and existential reflection?

Al-Koni believes that “existence is a desert, and the desert is the stage for the novel, because the human being is a migrant from cradle to grave—even in the absence of the desert—since worldly life is but a journey between two voids: the void of the cradle and the void of the grave. The existential experience is a quest for meaning, which we like to call truth, and the solace in navigating its maze is: freedom!”

In this intensive workshop, Al-Koni presents his unique perspective on the relationship between the desert and the novel, considering the desert as a metaphor for migration, meaning, truth, freedom—and the myths that lie between them.

This session is held as part of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF), organized by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), as part of the Centre’s efforts to promote culture, foster a love of reading, and provide a platform for the public to explore the latest cultural topics and the latest book releases.