[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fcRfS_mrlfLargYXzqk39alORua0GIYEezUGh2h57AJY":3,"$fTK1MUXzJu5rjawPJkF3OdyPcdviFduVirELfHEw0u3A":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"bio_jsonld":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},43561,"Hisham Matar","H",126,null,"hisham-matar",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":77},[14,22,28,34,40,46,52,58,64,71],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":9},3697104,"When you've been living in hope for a long time as I have, suddenly you realize that certainty is far more desirable than hope.",7,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":23,"quote_text":24,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":25,"source":26,"quote_tag":27,"commentary":9},3697103,"I think my generation's inability to speak in absolute terms when it comes to politics is a very positive thing; it's made us more nuanced, made us more complex.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":29,"quote_text":30,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":31,"source":32,"quote_tag":33,"commentary":9},3697102,"I don't believe people are interested in dates and facts. I don't think it is interesting to say what it is to be this person or that, but I do believe it is entertaining and perhaps even of value to express how it is to be that person.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":35,"quote_text":36,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":37,"source":38,"quote_tag":39,"commentary":9},3697100,"My parents were fairly laid-back, but there were certain things about which they were very strict. My brother and I were told never to turn away a person in need. And it didn't matter what we thought of their motives, whether they were truly in need or not.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":41,"quote_text":42,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":43,"source":44,"quote_tag":45,"commentary":9},3697097,"My family settled in Cairo in 1980. I was nine. I missed Libya terribly, but I also took to Cairo. I perfected the accent. People assumed I was Egyptian.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":47,"quote_text":48,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":49,"source":50,"quote_tag":51,"commentary":9},3697095,"My father, the political dissident Jaballa Matar, disappeared from his home in Cairo in March 1990.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":53,"quote_text":54,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":55,"source":56,"quote_tag":57,"commentary":9},3697093,"I've always said - I've always said I'm not, by temperament, a romantic about revolutions or given to revolutions. I've always thought that they are not the ideal way to change.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":59,"quote_text":60,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":61,"source":62,"quote_tag":63,"commentary":9},3697089,"I used to be a keen rider. Sometimes I could sense what a horse liked or preferred to do.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":65,"quote_text":66,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":67,"source":68,"quote_tag":69,"commentary":70},3697087,"I've never been particularly interested in genre distinctions. They seem to me more useful to a librarian than to a writer.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nHisham Matar, a Libyan novelist and memoirist, penned these words, reflecting on the nature of writing and categorization. At the time, Matar was likely grappling with the complexities of identity, culture, and the constraints of literary conventions. As a child of exile, he may have felt the weight of being bound by the expectations of others, whether it be the genre distinctions imposed by readers or the cultural heritage of his homeland.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nMatar's statement reveals a profound skepticism towards the notion that genre is a fixed or meaningful category. By dismissing genre distinctions as useful only to librarians, he highlights the artificial nature of these categorizations, which often serve to constrain and limit the writer's creative expression. In doing so, he reveals a tension between the desire for artistic freedom and the need to navigate the expectations of others.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply Matar's mindset, consider challenging the conventional wisdom that binds your creative work to a particular genre or category. By embracing the fluidity of your artistic expression, you may unlock new avenues of innovation and exploration, unencumbered by the expectations of others.",{"id":72,"quote_text":73,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":74,"source":75,"quote_tag":76,"commentary":9},3697083,"I lost my father when I was 19, so the majority of my life has been under this cloud, and I have been full of the intention to find out what happened.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"currentPage":78,"totalPages":79,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":80},1,13,10]