Kasimma, author of All Shades of Iberibe, recently attended the Pula Book Fair in Croatia where her collection of short stories has been translated into the Croatian language, as Portret Za Dar-mar, becoming the first non-English translation since initial publication two years ago. We wrote Kasimma requesting a glimpse into her experience in Croatia. Here is Kasimma’s response to us:
I wrote All Shades of Iberibe from a place of love, deep love, for the Igbo language. As a hardcore, placard-carrying feminist, I wanted to pen my experiences of being female in a world where femaleness is less. I cannot say I set out to actively write about these things, but they are who I have been all my life: Igbo and female. Sprinkling Igbo into my prose was me inserting myself into the language that was forced on my ancestors. I refused to translate Igbo words in my story; I refused to reduce them; I refused to italicize them in the dialogues. I once lost a publication deal because of this. Good for me! But I gained another: Sandorf Passage. I gained a publisher, Buzz Poole, who understood totally what I wanted to do without my having to say a word. And he helped me achieve that.
And when the book came out, friends who read it complained that I had too many Igbo words; how will non-Igbos understand; who do I expect will buy my book; kedụ ebe eji Igbo eje? But they knew they were pouring water on top of stone. Kedụ ebe eji Igbo eje? Eji Igbo eje United States, for starters. Kedụ ebe ndi England ji oyibo eje? Is that not how all of us are now speaking English? Is that not how English became a universal language? Didn’t English come out of French and Greek and Latin and so on? Did Europeans care if we would understand them or not when they were sharing the lands of Africa? So why am I being asked where one goes with Igbo? Well, I went to Croatia with Igbo.
Sa(n)jam Knjige U Istri extended an invitation to me for their 28th book fair. Was I excited? You bet! This book that I wrote in my room in the company of my sleeping children and whispering spirits. It is this book whose English version sold out in Croatia, then got translated into Croatian, and Croatians now want to see me! You won’t believe the speed with which I packed my bags.
At the festival, I met warm, kind readers who were very interested in my stories. They loved all the stories. They loved that I spoke and wrote about my ancestors, about Igbo rituals, Igbo spirituality, Biafran war, feminism, and I wrote all these things with so much humour. They were so interested in learning about Igbo and Biafran war.
After my interviews, people met me behind the stage, held my hand, spoke Croatian, but I understood. Kindness is a universal language. Blessing is a universal language. Smile is a universal language. Those who had not read the book bought it. They said they enjoyed listening to me and cannot wait to read my book. One old woman—and this is the experience that stays with me the most—dragged me by the hand and started rapping Croatian. Then she hit her head, looked around, grabbed a young lady, and said something to her while pointing at me. The lady started translating into English. Her English was not strong, but I got the gist. This old woman blessed and blessed me until my eyes burned with tears. She said she would be praying for me; she was so happy to have met me; and do I know that Obama is Nigerian? Lol! I said, “Yes, he is!”
On my flight back, after a very intense week of interviews and talks and photo shoots and all of that, fatigued from walking on heels and sitting up and smiling and posing for pictures, I still was unable to sleep on the flight. So, I opened my laptop and got writing.
And, yes, I started with an Igbo word! Onye Igbo ka m bụ!
Here are more photos from the Book Fair.
Kasimma’s stories and poems appear on Guernica, LitHub, Writer’s Digest, Meet Cute, Native Skin, Solarpunk Magazine, The Forge Magazine, The Ex-Puritan, Afreecan Read, Kikwetu, Isele, and many other journals and anthologies. She is the author of All Shades of Iberibe. She was awarded the 2022 Nikky Finney Fellowship for outstanding writing. She’s also been awarded writers’ residencies and workshops across Africa, Asia, and Europe, including the prestigious Wole Soyinka Foundation Writers’ Residency. Kasimma is an alumnus of Chimamanda Adichie’s creative writing workshop. You can read more about her and her works on https://kasimma.com/read-online/
Kasimma is from Igboland—obodo ndị dike.
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