Unheard Words: Women and Literature in Africa, the Arab World, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America
by Mineke Schipper
Category: Developing countries

Throughout the world women are writing creatively about their experience, through in many cases and for many reasons their literature remains a vast untapped source of unheard voices. This book provides a provocative and stimulating introduction to that increasingly vociferous achievement. The book is divided geographically into five main regions: Africa, the Arab World, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. Each contributor looks at the literary traditions, the cultural and social background of the women writers, and the many problems they face, especially in cultures where literature in general and criticism in particular are dominated by men. Each section is prefaced by a revealing selection of proverbs and includes a major interview with one writer. The writers interviewed are Miriam Tlali (South Africa), Etel Adnan (Lebanon), Nabaneeta Deb-Sen (India), Astrid Roemer (Surinam) and Cristina Peri Rossi (Uruguay).