My pen is the wing of a bird : new fiction
2022
Book
My pen is the wing of a bird; it will tell you those thoughts we are not allowed to think, those dreams we are not allowed to dream." Afghanistan has a rich literary history, but chronic instability, compounded now by the current crisis, have meant that women's voices have remained hidden. This anthology is the result of more than two years working Afghan women writers. They have strong, original, and unexpected stories to tell, but until now have had no opportunity to publish these locally or beyond their borders. Now it seems certain that this opportunity will be taken from them again. "Men always want to speak on behalf of Afghan women, but now it is time for Afghan women to speak for themselves. Without fear, we want to share our stories with the world." UNTOLD has been supporting them to develop their work, to write the stories they want to write, in their own words. These exciting contemporary voices from the country's two main linguistic groups (Pashto and Dari) explore a wide range of issues - family, work, tradition, sexuality, friendship, gender identity and real-life events - through original, vibrant, and tonally varied short fiction. These stories come at a pivotal moment in Afghanistan's history, when international media interest in the country needs to be met by creative voices living in, speaking about, and writing from Afghanistan. ABOUT UNTOLD: UNTOLD is a writer development programme for marginalised writers in areas of conflict and post-conflict. Afghanistan has millions of Pashto and Dari speakers with little or no local support for creative writing, literary translation, or literary editing. Support for writers has been hampered by cultural norms, free expression issues, chronic instability, and internal displacement. UNTOLD has been working one-to-one with women on their short stories, with English-speaking literary editors and translators working with the writers to realise the potential of their stories for publication both locally and globally in translation.
Main title:
My pen is the wing of a bird : new fiction / by Afghan women ; with an introduction by Lyse Doucet and ; an afterword by Lucy Hannah.
Author:
Doucet, Lyse, 1958-, author of introduction, etcHannah, Lucy, author of afterword, colophon, etc
Imprint:
London : MacLehose Press, 2022.©2022.
Collation:
253 pages ; 20 cm.
Notes:
Translated into English.
Contents:
IntroductionI: Companion - Daughter Number Eight - Dogs Are Not To Blame - A Common Language - The Late Shift - The Most Beautiful Lips in the WorldII: I Don't Have the Flying Wings - Bad Luck - What Are Friends For? - D for Daud - Falling from the Summit of Dreams - An Imprint on the WallIII: The Black Crow of Winter - Silver Ring - Sandals - The Worms - Khurshid Khanum, Rise and Shine - My Pillow's Journey of Eleven Thousand, Eight Hundred and Seventy-Six KilometresIV: Ajah - The Red Boots - Blossom - Haska's Decision - Please Turn the Air Conditioning On, Sir
ISBN:
9781529422214 (paperback)
Dewey class:
891.593
Language:
EnglishMultiple languages
Subject:
BRN:
137595