Migritude
Anne Moraa on Migritude by Shailja Patel.
Shailja Patel weaves her life’s journey moving between continents with our own history as Kenyans and as women. A genre-defying text, held together by a masterful voice. This book it is a modern classic.
Anne shares: There is so much I didn’t know. Not just the facts of our history – particularly as a Black Kenyan and the complexities of our relationships with Indian-Kenyans – but the telling of it. Shailja speaks with powerful raw vulnerability. This is an emotional book, and I love it for that. There are so many moments that struck me deep because she went there, she spoke that deep truth most shy away from. As I have re-read it, I find even more layers are to be found. I want to write that emotively, that frankly, that honestly.
Migritude reverberates with a boldness, wisdom and vulnerability that cuts through you with every turn. Boldness in the voice, in the unapologetic gendered and nuanced perspective. Wisdom, in the depth of knowledge and the perspectives: she sees it all. Above all, the vulnerability: to share yourself, to share the world that openly, that beautifully, that is powerful. There were sides of myself and my own history that I have (re)learned through this book. Masterfully told, Shailja doesn’t waste a single word. Not one. Every word is intentional and as such, the book dares to do more than tell a story. It asks us questions. It asks you to discover yourself and to share it. To reject isolation – from your own history, tragedies and biases. To act.
Anne Moraa is a writer, editor and performer interested in stories. The co-founder of Oil_Creatives, a storytelling consultancy, she will sell her soul for a packet of chilli lemon crisps!