Faisal Al Suwaidi explores roots, reading, and writer’s craft

November 12, 2025 / 11:18 AM

Sharjah24: Emirati writer and traveller Faisal Al Suwaidi urged audiences at the 44th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF 2025) to reconnect with the UAE’s roots and rediscover the smaller towns and villages that form the basis of its cultural identity. During a session titled “Symphony of Knowledge”, organised by Sharjah Public Libraries, Al Suwaidi encouraged shifting attention away from skyscrapers and urban modernity towards the authentic communities that define the nation’s soul.

“Our cities tell one story, but our villages tell the first story,” he said. “We must look beyond the skyline to understand who we are.”

Writing rooted in people and place

Al Suwaidi discussed his acclaimed novel 'The Village Above Which Angels Flew', explaining that his deep interest inspired it in overlooked, everyday lives. For him, travel is not a leisure pursuit but a cultural act—a means to observe and absorb human experience.

“I travel in search of the rare and distinct… for books, libraries, people, and languages,” he shared. “A writer must experience it firsthand before writing about it.”

To create the novel’s world genuinely, he visited villages in several countries, basing his fictional narrative on real encounters. He remembered spending five days in solitude reading and contemplating in a small Welsh library, calling such immersive experiences “essential nourishment for any writer.”

Reading as a form of therapy and self-reconstruction

Al Suwaidi also spoke passionately about the healing power of literature, describing reading as both a refuge and a means of emotional renewal.

“For me, reading is pleasure, escape, impact, an airport, a train, a port… a medicine and a cure,” he said. “It is a means of self-reconstruction.”

He encouraged readers to incorporate books into their daily routines, suggesting simple habits like keeping a book in the car to read while waiting at traffic lights. “Reading should begin with enjoyment,” he said. “It should never intimidate—it should inspire.”

The writer’s craft: between imagination and discipline

Turning to the creative process, Al Suwaidi provided an intimate insight into the emotional struggles of writing. He confessed that the very first sentence of a novel can be one of the most challenging obstacles for any author.

“The first line exerts a kind of psychological pressure,” he said. “It can keep you awake at night because it sets the rhythm for everything that follows.”

For Al Suwaidi, being a writer begins with being a reader. “I am the sum of everything I’ve read since I was young,” he reflected. “Once reading takes root, it becomes a lifelong path.”