Resistance through Literature

Le Clezio, a literary Nobel recipient:

“Every piece of literature is written in one language, and therefore is given its nationality,” he said. “Yet it has to connect with the people who do not share that nationality. Literature is an effort to understand the common experience of men.”

A piece of literature, after all, has to let its readers understand the universality of human experience, which transcends national and cultural differences, he said.

Le Clezio said the modern international public is often unconsciously manipulated by the mass media, and writers should resist such manipulation by writing.

“Of course a writer does not have much power compared to the mass media and television,” he said. “But writing can be a meaningful way of resisting. We’ll just have to keep writing.” Source: koreaherald.com

Others second Le Clezio's belief that writers can play a crucial role:

[...] "in the past dialogue used to be a weapon in our society, but now weapons have taken the place of dialogue in our society and there was urgent need to fight this mindset and literacy figures can play a crucial role in winning this war against terrorism." Source: ftpapp.app.com.pk June 18, 2011