By Dana Al-Qattan

KUWAIT: The literary world comes with many friends and foes, wounds, healing, and the familiar and unfamiliar. Fiction helps humans grapple with the uncertainty of their own lives. It’s a place to be and belong. The Kuwait Times newspaper has gone through many generational changes, with local and international news it offered a continuum of knowledge about current affairs for English speaking citizens/residents. Many different communities of different ages exist in Kuwait, but not many of them understand each other.

There is an importance in reading fiction (whether it be novels, short stories, or comic books). Reading fiction teaches us empathy and continually improves it through the emotional struggles or difficult situations that the characters face. It is the chance to get out of our bodies and lives and intrinsically live another, getting an insight on many different lives on a deeper level. It also improves one’s creativity, vocabulary, and widens our perspectives of the world, as well as teaches us critical thinking and offers paths to improve our lives.

Sitting in a small coffee shop reading, Fatemah Al-Matrouk, 24 years old, when asked if she reads a newspaper answered no, but she does follow Kuwait Times on Instagram. Al-Matrouk is an avid reader of fiction and said she would read the news more if eventually there was a fiction section added (acting as a stress reliever): “That is why I don’t like reading the news, lots of bad stuff happening.” Which is why adding a fiction section can mend and allow those two parts to exist, as surely Fatemah is not the only one who feels this way.

Reem Ali, 27, and Carolina Roeles, 19, were in an excitable conversation as they were asked why they believe reading fiction is important. Reem, who has been a reader her entire life, believes that fiction “teaches you morals in an indirect way”, and Carolina believes: “It helps you escape reality, especially when you are reading the news.”

Not many people are readers of fiction, it is quite rare to see a book in hand, so having quick access to a fiction section can really bridge that gap. Now will a fiction section in the newspaper take away its “seriousness”? Carolina had a quick reply to that: “I think adding a fiction section attracts more people, especially this generation nobody really reads the news anymore, the fiction section will make them more interested and then they’ll be seeing what’s going on.”

Adding a fiction (or literary) section to the Kuwait times newspaper has many societal benefits. It would represent local writers, allowing them to have a voice, and exposure. Nourah Al-Saleh, being an artist and writer herself, said that having a fiction or artistic section “allows local artists and creators to represent the artistic side of Kuwaiti culture.” It will offer the creative youth of Kuwait an opportunity to show their work and feel accepted and understood.