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Javad Mohaqeq, poet and writer, emphasized the need to protect children's literature
1403/02/26-15:36
In an interview with the news headquarters of the 35th Tehran International Book Fair, Javad Mohaqeq, a researcher, poet, and writer, mentioned the high costs of printing materials, from paper to other printing necessities. He continued: "These costs result in fewer people being able to buy books. However, this is not an excuse for people to say they don't read books."
He linked the act of buying books solely to the high prices and economic conditions and said: "Reading books is not related to high prices at all, as readers can go to libraries or buy books together with others."
Mohaqeq emphasized that these days, the high cost of books is just an excuse for not reading books. He continued: "Books have not become more expensive relative to snacks like puffed corn, pizza, and soda. Why don't they cut back on these snacks for their children, but easily cut back on books?"
Impact of Inflation on the Publishing Cycle
This researcher noted that the printing and publishing cycle is affected by high costs and inflation. He said: "This issue harms the publishing cycle, as the profit that publishers, authors, and translators earn mainly comes from book sales. We have many publishers and writers whose only source of income is through book sales, and a decrease in sales severely affects their livelihood."
Mohaqeq pointed out the content of books in the field of children's and adolescent literature. He said: "Today, we do not lack weak, inappropriate, and vulgar books in children's and adolescent literature because some people think that just because their audience is children, they can produce any kind of work, especially in translation."
According to him, there are many low-priced books that are not considered good books in the field of children's literature, especially in terms of translation. Therefore, more efforts should be made to protect the field of children's literature.
Weak Religious Books
This veteran poet and writer noted that the problem also exists in the field of religious books. He added: "Some people think that because they are religious and pious, they can also produce religious books, which is why we have many weak books in this field."
Mohaqeq added: "Unfortunately, we are more grappling with this problem in the field of children's and adolescent literature and must approach it more intelligently."
According to him, this will not be achieved unless the number of critique and review sessions in this field is increased so that issues and problems can be raised in these sessions and solutions considered for them.
The 35th Tehran International Book Fair, under the slogan "We Read, We Build," will be held from May 8 to May 18, 2024, at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla in person and on the ketab.ir platform.
