Belly of Fire
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About this ebook
‘Not only is your story worth telling, but it can be told in words so painstakingly eloquent that it becomes a song.’ – Gloria Naylor
We often configure our lives with a fine veneer of glossing over the facts. Truth, as they say, is stranger than fiction. We’re obsessed with glorifying our telling of the truth, and in so doing, the presentation of ourselves. In this way, there is to be found more truth in fiction. Fiction becomes the perfect vehicle for exploring the nitty-gritty narratives that swirl around us, especially in an effort to make sense of the spaces within which we might find ourselves trapped, disillusioned, powerless or having found a glint of opportunity.
Belly of Fire is a metaphor for the anxiety and fear that we hold within ourselves; the voices of those who are dis-empowered by racism, poverty, war and gendered abuse, voices that remain silenced, are housed as fire in our bellies.
The stories in this collection grapple with real, everyday issues that face ordinary people. The poetry interspersed between them reveals emotions that arise from dealing with these issues, reflecting on them, using them to rebel or act out against the pressures that try to silence us.
The results: seven reflective, compelling stories intertwined with no fewer than twelve contemporary poems that bring out the essence of the themes developed in the narratives.
Some stories may be inspired by or are reflective of personal and shared histories; the reading and re-reading of these narratives validate the reflective opportunities and learning that life presents to us as individuals.
Shafinaaz Hassim
Shafinaaz Hassim is the author of 'Daughters are Diamonds: Honour, Shame and Seclusion - A South African Perspective' (2007) and Memoirs For Kimya (2009). She's also the editor of 'Belly of Fire' (2011) part of the Anthologies for Social Change series. Her recent publication, 'SoPhia' (2012) a novel on domestic violence, has received great acclaim. She has lectured in Sociology at UKZN in Durban, and at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, SA.
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