In three years, I’ve been enchanted, surprised and shocked by the stories told by women of all nations – and inspired by the solidarity they show
Three years ago, when I set out to read writing by a woman from every country in the world, I had no idea of the ways in which this journey would surprise me, challenge me and, as life became smaller, sustain me.
What I did know was that I needed to broaden my bookcase far beyond the canon. So in June 2018, I started a blog where I would chart my way, gather tips from readers and review all 199 books, poems and stories. (I was more inclusive than some official lists – bringing in Palestine, Tibet and Kosovo, for instance). It felt surreal in December last year when I closed Le Déserteur by Hélène Kaziende from Niger, the very last country on my list. Taking the form of a letter to Africa, this short story explores the fraught decision to leave a place of origin. I had learned of Kaziende’s work through my research into Nigerien literature, and it took months for me to track down a secondhand copy of the 1992 collection, Kilomètre 30, where her story is printed. The pandemic meant it took another six weeks to land on my doorstep, and an additional afternoon to freshen up my French, before I could read it. It was well worth the wait.
Continue reading...