‘‪Women of words, words of women’

Is not the fight for human rights and independence, against racism or simply for freedom very often waged by women? Does not women's writing often show distinctive characteristics? These are the questions raised by Kettly Mars (Je suis vivant, Mercure de France, 2015), Scholastique Mukasonga (Our Lady of the Nile, Archipelago Books, 2011) en Bessora (Le testament de Nicolas, La Margouline, 2016). Each in her own way brings alive her characters, most of them female, in situations evoking the realities of the world they live in. As they explore the wealth of human and particularly female psychology, these women writers confront us with the universality of the questioning. The writers will be joined by the Belgian writer Geneviève Damas.

The Haitian writer Kettly Mars was born in Port-au-Prince where she still lives today. She began her literary career as a poet in the 1990s before turning to short stories and novels. Her latest novel, Je suis vivant, winner of the Prix Ivoire, takes a penetrating look at the heart of Haitian society. For Kettly Mars, literature "reminds us to be men". Consequently, her work is distinctive for its harsh realism. She writes of subjects such as love, sensuality and women's rights. 

Born in Rwanda, Scholastique Mukasonga fled her country in the 1970s for exile in Burundi. She arrived in France in 1992 where she has lived ever since. Several members of her family were massacred in the Rwanda genocide. Her latest novel, Cœur Tambour, evokes Nyabinghi, a feminine anticolonial figure admired by the rastas through the character of Kitami, a successful singer who worships her. For Scholastique Mukasonga, "writing is a song and a liberation. It is vital."

Bessora was born in Brussels, and is the daughter of a Swiss mother and Gabonese father. She grew up between Europe, the USA and Africa. She received the Fénéon price for her novel Les Taches d'encre and for the novel Cueillez-moi, jolis Messieurs... she received the Grand Prix littéraire d’Afrique noire (Major literary prize of Black Africa) in 2007. In 2016 Le Testament de Nicolas was published, which follows a young radicalized 17-year-old.

To our great regret, Léonora Miano has cancelled her presence.