The short story writer Khalil Ibrahim Al-Fuzai’ is one of the most prominent writers in the Kingdom. Despite his extensive knowledge and contributions, he focused on the art of the short story, and several collections of his work have been published. Al-Fuzai’ was born, raised, and received his primary education in his hometown of Al-Jishah, one of the eastern villages in Al-Ahsa. He continued his education at the Scientific Institute and joined the government service in 1381 AH, working in the Education Department in Dammam, then the Ministry of Information, Eastern Province branch. He worked in journalism from 1961, starting with the newspaper (Al-Khaleej Al-Arabi), which was published in Al-Khobar, then Al-Youm newspaper, in the year it was published, 1965, to assume its editorship in 1984 for several years. Here is the text of our interview with him.

The current offerings of the Culture and Arts Association cannot be ignored

• What is your opinion on the current state of the cultural movement in the Kingdom, especially on its eastern coast?

•• The cultural movement in our country is witnessing remarkable activity in all fields, and new knowledge technologies are contributing to the establishment of cultural values ​​with comprehensive features in their development and approach to addressing the concerns and issues of society. This is a natural matter in the context of other developments that the nation is witnessing in various fields, and there is no difference in this between one region and another, and the eastern coast is no exception in the general national system.

Do you see varying levels of cultural mobility factors between the Eastern Province and the rest of the Kingdom's cities?

•• I do not see any difference in the levels of cultural activity factors in the Eastern Province compared to the rest of the regions, because all regions live under one cultural system that casts its shadow on everyone, whether positive or negative. It is true that the Eastern Province has a large number of writers, poets, artists, intellectuals and cultural salons, especially in Al-Ahsa and Qatif, but this situation is experienced by other regions in this country, which are characterized by concerted efforts to achieve more cultural activity aimed at the desired cultural development.

• How do you explain the interest in visual arts and archaeological sites, at the expense of poetry, criticism, theater and music?

I both agree and disagree with the content of the question. There is a clear interest in some cultural aspects, including the visual arts and archaeological sites and their investment. However, all of this does not conflict with the interest in other aspects, including poetry, literary criticism, theater, and music. Cultural investment is required to keep pace with the comprehensive economic renaissance in our country. Poetry and the novel establish an active critical movement, and the opposite is true. As for the theater, we need a national theater company that can be relied upon in Arab and international theater festivals, instead of relying on plays that we import from abroad to participate in our festivals. We need an institute for theater and another for music. We cannot ignore what the Culture and Arts Association and its branches are currently offering in terms of theatrical and musical activities that can be used to establish new values ​​in theater and music.

• Are the relevant cultural authorities fulfilling their role to the fullest extent?

•• The cultural authorities have noticeably declined in their role. The cultural authorities do not care about literary clubs and reorganize them in a way that ensures their performance keeps pace with the aspirations of intellectuals. Nor do the bodies care about creators, and if they want their cooperation, they ask them to give up their material and moral rights, instead of guaranteeing their rights and taking care of their works and acquiring the good ones as was the case in the past, when the ministry used to buy authors’ books at encouraging prices and distribute them on the widest scale at home and abroad, which contributes to the spread of these books and helps to introduce local literature. The ministry could have organized this effort so that it would be limited to books of an appropriate level, instead of canceling this procedure altogether.

• How much has the development of the cultural movement affected the people of the Eastern Province?

•• The Eastern region, like other regions, is affected by any development of cultural activity in any cultural field. No region can be considered isolated from the rest of the regions. Intellectuals in our country participate in any cultural activity throughout the homeland, and they make no distinction between one region and another.

• What is your opinion of the literary clubs in the Eastern Province, and have they delivered what was expected of them?

•• The club's activity in any region varies according to the available material and administrative resources. Therefore, we cannot ask any club to do more than it can. Furthermore, the cooperation of intellectuals with the literary club in any region is important because it was established for them, and from them it derives its activity and vitality. As for the boycott of the club by some intellectuals on the pretext of its shortcomings in performing its cultural tasks, this is a negative stance that will not enable the club to perform its required role. The club is not only its management but also the intellectuals around it, and the burden of its performance level falls on them. The important thing is for the official authorities to hasten to save the situation of our literary clubs from the state of confusion they are experiencing, by expediting the issuance of the new system for these clubs so that they know their rights and obligations.

• What about getting rid of cultural and artistic associations?

•• And why get rid of them? The fact is that cultural and arts associations, like literary clubs, need official support, and their activities include more cultural fields than literary clubs, such as theater, music, visual arts, cinema, and folk heritage. Some of them have carried out activities that are the domain of literary clubs, such as cultural seminars, dialogue meetings, honoring literary figures, holding poetry and story evenings, organizing annual poetry and story festivals, hosting the activities of local cultural salons, adopting literary publications, and visual arts exhibitions: drawing, photography, calligraphy, sculpture, and short films. So, do we have the right to get rid of them as the question implies, or does that call us to support and assist them? Even the idea of ​​merging them with literary clubs is not appropriate in my opinion, because we need new specialized cultural platforms that expand the circle of interest in culture, and not confine it to one institution.