Ways of Beings: Creative Non-Fiction by Pakistani Women
Does writing have a nationality? Are writers defined by geography, language, religion, gender and ethnicity alone, or are there other attributes that identify them?
Fifteen of the most articulate and creative non-fiction writers from Pakistan eloquently demonstrate that, as Sabyn Javeri says, “Who you are is more accurately represented by what you stand for, than by where you are from.”
Large-scale migration and transnational mobility have rendered national borders porous, while the Internet has internationalised communication in a way that practically erases territorial boundaries. Questions about ‘being’ and ‘belonging’ acquire an urgency that demands articulation: how does a writer relate to her context, whether at ‘home’ or ‘away’, and locate herself and her writing in it? For the purposes of this anthology, Javeri believes that, “A Pakistani writer is one who feels a connection to the land either by origin or by sensibility.”
This rich and fascinating collection of reflections, reminiscences, musings—and excellent writing features:
*Taymiya R. Zaman *Feryal Ali Gauhar *Sadia Khatri *Bina Shah *Soniah Kamal *Kamila Shamsie *Saba Karim Khan *Uzma Aslam Khan *Hananah Zaheer *Sabyn Javeri *Rukhsana Ahmad *Noren Haq *Humera Afridi *Muneeza Shamsie *Shahnaz Rouse. They are among the best creative non-fiction writers anywhere.
