A novel from Uganda bears witness
We, The Kindling by Otoniya J. Okot Bitek assembles a haunting symphony of women's voices that refuses the erasure of the historical memory of a cruel war.
Over the weekend, we met for the book club spotlighting poet and writer Otoniya J. Okot Bitek’s recent novel We, The Kindling. Huge thanks to everyone who attended. It was a generative yet sobering session in which the author spoke honestly about the difficulty of working with the stories of women and children who suffered almost unspeakable levels of violence at the hands of Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda. I continued my conversation with Okot Bitek for the BookRising podcast and we spoke at some length about literary form, the traumatizing impact of the stories on the writer herself, and the imperative of bearing witness while feeling the guilt of having been far away when it was all happening.
You can listen to the podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.
You can also watch it on Youtube.
Reading Palestine: Mohammed El-Kurd’s Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal
On May 4th, we will meet once again for another Reading Palestine session to discuss Mohammed El-Kurd recent book Perfect Victims, a powerful indictment and staunch refusal of the world’s desire to see Palestinians only as victims, and as subjects of subjugation and death.
Our goal is simple. As we seek the reserves necessary to keep engaging with the fight for Palestinian freedom, we return to the words of Palestinian writers themselves. Nowhere can we find more powerful expressions of resistance and the will to endure. This is an inclusive space to read, think, grieve, take solace, and inspiration in literature and poetry.
Join us online. Register here.
Love and solidarity ❤️🔥
Bhakti Shringarpure