Beyond the Skyline: Emirati author Faisal Al Suwaidi Discusses Roots, Reading as Therapy, Writer's Craft

Emirati writer and traveller Faisal Al Suwaidi urged audiences at the 44th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) to reconnect with the UAE’s roots by shifting focus away from the glittering skyscrapers to the smaller towns and villages that have shaped its identity. Speaking during a session organised by Sharjah Public Libraries, he challenged the dominant image of the UAE as defined by skyscrapers and rapid development, calling for greater attention to the people and places often overlooked in public narratives.

During the session “Symphony of Knowledge” organised by the Sharjah Public Libraries, Al Suwaidi said his novel The Village Above Which Angels Flew was shaped by a commitment to portray overlooked, everyday communities. He described travel not as leisure but as a cultural act, explaining that he visited villages in several countries to ground his fictional setting in real experience.

“I travel in search of the rare and distinct… for books, libraries, people, and languages,” Al Suwaidi told the audience. “A writer must live the experience before writing it.” He recalled spending five days alone reading and reflecting in a small library in a Welsh village, describing such moments as essential to a writer’s development.

Beyond geography and craft, Al Suwaidi also explored the intimate, therapeutic power of literature itself. He championed the concept of “reading as therapy,” describing it as a profound means of personal restoration. “For me, reading is pleasure, escape, impact, an airport, a train, a port… a medicine and a cure,” he reflected. “It is a means of self-reconstruction.”

He said reading should be shared and encouraged, describing it as contagious. To make it part of daily life, he suggested simple habits like keeping a book in the car to read at traffic lights. For those just starting, his advice was direct: “Reading should begin with enjoyment, not intimidation of the written word.”

Turning to the writer’s craft, Al Suwaidi gave a candid glimpse into the anxieties of creation, confessing to the "psychological pressure" of composing a novel’s first sentence, a challenge so profound it “can even disrupt your sleep.” He firmly grounded the identity of any writer in that of a reader first, stating, “I am the sum of everything I’ve read since I was young; once reading takes root, it becomes a life path.”