Impact of Digital Tools on Literature in Yemen: Balancing Reality and Aspirations

Ahmed Bajoaim – Sawt Al-Amal (Voice of Hope)

In Yemen, where authenticity meets modernity, digital literature is beginning to make its way, contributing to expanding the horizon of literary creativity. This new field has allowed Yemeni writers to discover new ways to express their creativity and share their work with a wider audience than ever before, from e-books to interactive stories and more. These digital media have opened up new horizons for literary experimentation for writers and poets and have enhanced their ability to innovate and create.

From letters carved on stone to glowing screens, literature has witnessed radical transformations thanks to rapid technological advancements. Technology is no longer just a tool for disseminating ideas but has become an integral part of the creative process itself. A new type of literature has emerged, called “science fiction stories,” which merges the art of storytelling with scientific and technological developments to transcend the boundaries of time and space. The concept of “interactive fiction” has also emerged, where literary works are published on social media and the internet, and navigation between their parts is done through hyperlinks. This new literary style has a feature that enables sharing and commenting, which was not previously present.

In this report, we will highlight the role of digital tools in shaping the literary scene in Yemen, addressing the challenges and opportunities faced by writers in this context, as well as highlighting the most prominent digital literary works written by Yemeni writers, and their ability to merge literary heritage with digital age technologies.

Digital Literature

In an analytical study of the International Conference for Graduate Students of the Department of Arabic Language at Malang State University in Indonesia in 2023, it was pointed out that “digital literature is characterized by its reliance on digital media, such as the internet, software for electronic texts, and multimedia. The forms of digital literature also vary between animated stories, digital poetry, literary games, and interactive electronic texts, among others. It was also stated that the digital age is the future of the Arabic language and will contribute to its development.”

The analytical study also mentioned that digital literature faces many challenges, most importantly technological changes, especially in terms of language and its structural and traditional uses, which require concerned parties to work on developing the use of the Arabic language in the fields of innovation, content creation, and scientific research, so that the Arabic language can keep pace with the digital age, as well as working to capitalize on the available opportunities to enhance the use of language in digital literature.

Literary reports on the relationship between technology and literature also mentioned that one of the most prominent challenges facing literature in the field of digital development is the emergence of some climbers to the forefront of literary websites, who have not added any development or distinction to the literary content, but their works have been weak and do not meet the tastes of readers. However, they have been able to build a fan base and popularity on social media, which raises concerns about the future of literature.

The Reality of Yemeni Literature

Dr. Su’ad Basuad, a literary writer, believes that there is a popular demand for this type of literature, especially with the limited availability of paper books in general and their lack of appeal to the public, who have resorted to using digital literature applications to download literary works and read them easily, as well as the emergence of various platforms that are concerned with the literary scene and contain readable and audible books, such as YouTube, podcasts, and others, which has made literature available in every home and for every reader. This is considered the most prominent difference between it and traditional paper literature, which has become confined to individuals who have money or those who have access to various libraries and the desire to read books.

For her part, the literary writer Fatima Ramudha said: “Digital literature in Yemen, in modern times, is witnessing radical transformations and developments. Multiple digital platforms have become available to display literary works, and readers have interacted with them in innovative ways, such as interactive texts on social media and platforms, and animated digital stories. This has contributed to opening up new horizons for literary creativity, in addition to the ease of publication, distribution, and reaching audiences around the world.”

She added: “Digital literature has the advantage of direct interaction between the writer and readers through comments, participation, and discussions, which breaks down barriers and creates a more interactive literary community. Moreover, readers can access a wide range of literary works from all over the world, which enriches their reading experience and enhances the expansion of the network of readers.”

Developing Digital Literature

Writer Fatima Ramudha points out that the most prominent developments in digital literature are the emergence of new and interactive literary forms that encourage experimentation and innovation. It also makes publishing and distribution easier, with the emergence of self-publishing platforms like Amazon and Kindle, as well as digital libraries. This reduces the writer’s dependence on traditional publishers and libraries, relieving them of significant burdens and simplifying the tasks of publishing and distribution.

She continues: “The transformation of traditional literature into digital literature has created a direct connection between the audience and the writer through the direct feedback between the writer and their audience on various social media platforms. This helps identify the shortcomings and strengths of books, as well as constructive literary criticism.”

One of the positives of the digital development of literature is that it has turned parts of it into literary repositories. By this, we mean digital libraries that contain thousands of books. They have provided readers with many books they want to access globally. The existence of technology has also saved writers exorbitant amounts of money that they would have had to pay to publishers. It has provided the advantage of preserving the history of old writers and their works by keeping recorded television interviews, the works they presented, and readings of their works in their voices. This allows new generations to learn about the works and opinions of these writers.

Challenges of Digital Development

Dr. Basuad clarifies that any field must face challenges and difficulties that must be addressed and overcome. One of the most significant challenges facing writers with the acceleration of digital development is that works published on digital platforms and websites are susceptible to rapid theft if they are popular. Writers need to be careful when publishing their works on platforms and to document them in full when publishing. The abundance of works in reality creates significant competition among all writers. This requires writers to be proficient in the marketing of their works and not just rely on publishers for this.

Ramudha also points out that digital literature faces challenges related to protecting intellectual property rights and ethical violations. Digital literary works face challenges related to content theft, copyright infringement, and the lack of standards for literary quality. In other words, the ease of publishing provided by technology makes it difficult to distinguish between good and bad literary works. Also, the direct impact of technology on the traditional reading experience.

She adds: “The most significant differences between digital and paper literature are the differences in presentation. Paper literature provides a tangible reading experience. Digital literature relies on electronic screens, which provide greater flexibility in reading. This means that paper literature is a stable reading experience, where the reader follows a fixed sequence of text. Digital literature allows for greater interaction between the reader and the text, such as interactive novels that allow the reader to choose the path of the story, and hyperlinks that take the reader to different parts of the text. Digital literature is also environmentally friendly because it does not require the production of paper, unlike paper literature.”

She continues: “Another difference is distribution and publishing. Paper literature relies on traditional publishers to distribute books, making the publishing process more expensive, complicated, and time-consuming. Digital literature makes publishing and distribution easier. Authors can publish their works individually and independently online and distribute them globally quickly and easily. The method of preservation and search is also different. Paper literature requires a large storage space in the library and is difficult to search. Digital literature can store thousands of books on a small device, making searching easy thanks to search engines. In terms of financial cost, paper literature is more expensive than digital literature. The latter may be free in some cases.”

Prominent Works

The Writer Dr. Su’ad Basuad highlights her most prominent digital works, which include “The Earth’s Covenant” and “Princess Husn” novels, both published in 2016. Her paper-based works include the novels, “When My Heart Returned,” “The Fence of Longing,” “Birth,” “Scattered Embers,” “Black Deal,” and the short story collection “The Pawn’s Storm.”

Writer Fatima Ramudha notes that she released a short story collection titled “Those Afflicted by Dreams” in 2022. She also has literary contributions to several literary magazines, websites, and foreign and local institutions.

Websites and digital platforms are overflowing with rich and historical Yemeni novels and literary works. These include historical novels like “Bakatheer,” “The Discourse of Preludes by Al-Muqalih,” “The Novelistic Critique in Yemen,” “Ibn Khaldoon,” “The Art of Biography,” and many more. Additionally, there are modern novels published on digital platforms and websites, such as “The Morgue” by Yemeni short story writer Sumayya Taha, and the novels “Outcast of the Mountain” and “The Ship’s Keeper” by poet and novelist Abdullah Naji, among others.

Finally, digital literature in Yemen is a new form of literary creativity that responds to rapid technological advancements. This form of literature has proven its ability to transcend traditional boundaries and present new and innovative content that reflects cultural, social, and human issues in new ways.