The cultural identity of African women writers and the relationship between homeland and host country were the focus of a meeting organized on Thursday as part of the 2nd Marrakech African Book Festival (FLAM).
Initiated under the theme ‘Writing the in-between’, the meeting enabled African women writers to discuss the main themes of their latest works, as well as the influence of immigration on their careers.
Through their works, these writers tried to demonstrate the extent to which writing is an effective means of transcending geographical barriers to give a voice to the first generations of immigrants, often neglected in the world of literature, but also to talk about taboo subjects or to highlight the differences between Africa and the West.
Born in Paris of Mauritanian parents, writer Fanta Dramé discussed the subject of her book “Ajar-Paris”, in which she reflects deeply on her father’s migratory journey, collecting his words and going so far as to retrace the route he took to get to France.
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g to “maintain the legacy” of her father’s words, Dramé, who is also a teacher in Pantin, Seine-Saint-Denis, said she thought of writing the book after losing her paternal grandmother in 2013 and visiting her father’s village (Ajar), where she noticed a real gap with Paris.
For her part, Moroccan novelist and short story writer Leila Bahsain explained that her third novel, ” What I know about Mister Jacques”, set in Marrakech, aims to raise readers’ awareness of the subject of child abuse, through a rather complex construction of characters illustrating a dominated-dominant relationship, both economically, culturally and socially.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse