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Presentation - The Paradox of Writing Fiction, AUA

Publish Date: Nov 03, 2015

Event Dates: from Nov 04, 2015 05:00 to Nov 04, 2015 07:00

Presentation by Metin Arditi, founder of the Arditi Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue.

The fundamental process of writing fiction requires the author to put himself in the shoes of all his characters, regardless of whether he would otherwise like or dislike them, praise them, or judge them. That is the reader’s task. During the writing process, the author must put himself or herself one step above reality, as if he/she were detached from the real world which he/she must precisely describe. When Gustave Flaubert, one of the greatest novelists of French Literature, says, “Madame Bovary, c’est moi,” he means that he is, in fact, his most famous character, a lost woman. Flaubert’s statement sums up the task of all fiction writers.

How can one achieve this most difficult goal? What are the difficulties to be overcome? What are the possible rewards of fiction writing, beyond the obvious (and far from certain) ones of fame and fortune?

About the speaker:

Metin Arditi was born in Ankara, in a Jewish Sepharadic family, and left Turkey at the age of seven. After spending eleven years in a Swiss boarding school in Lausanne, he studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, where he earned a degree in physics and a postgraduate degree in nuclear engineering. He continued his studies at Stanford Business School, where he got an MBA. He lives in Geneva, where he is very involved in the cultural and artistic life of the city. From 2000 to 2013 he was Chairman of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR). He is a member of the Strategic Council of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, where over the years he taught physics, as an assistant, economics and management, as a lecturer, and creative writing, as a Visiting Professor. In 1988, he created the Arditi Foundation, which awards fifteen annual prizes to graduates of the University of Geneva and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The Arditi Foundation has purchased and offered to the University of Geneva a landmark theater, the Cinema Manhattan, now called Auditorium Fondation Arditi. He is the founder of ” The Instruments of Peace Foundation “, which offers musical education to children of Palestine and Israel. He is a member of the Foundation Board of the Music Conservatory of Geneva. He chaired the Building Committee of the Martin Bodmer Museum in Cologny. In December 2012, Metin Arditi was appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. In June 2014, UNESCO appointed him Special Envoy. In September 2014, he created the Arditi Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue.

This event is in English. No interpretation will be provided. This event is open to public.

Organizer: Office of the President
Venue: Alex and Marie Manoogian Hall
Phone: +374 60 69-40-40

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Disciplines

Literature

Writing

Host Countries

Armenia

Event Types

Presentation