The Literary World of Women
By Hira Amir
What is it about literature that represents the baffling dichotomy between the words delineated by women and the non-binary, and those by a man? It is the eyes, through which we look at the world, it is the mind which perceives differently, it is the soul that swallows different ideas and the tongue that can enunciate on different characters we come across in the world. Here I will be emphasizing on the two worlds we come across in literature, written by men and then by women. Of course, the discourse and the ability to form any idea can be the same. But at the same time, we cannot just form an opinion before diving into the various lexicons and the intellects of the plethora of women writers.
Why are we not reading enough women writers? I prided myself in knowing that I actually have read multitudes of women authors. But looking upon my book shelf, to my utter surprise, I had more paperback works of Stephen King and Marquez than I had Woolf and Toni Morrison. I have heard of all these wonderful women writers but I never came across them in my childhood, or my teenage years. I am not looking down upon King and Marquez, I have grown to love their work through the years. But why is it that I was more familiar with these male authors than I was with the works of Atwood and Toni Morrison? Bell Hooks and Audre Lorde? I always knew King as the ultimate numero uno of horror fiction but why did not I ever hear of Shirley Jackson?
The answer to that, of what I have observed, is blatant sexism. The gender biasness in which women are regularly portrayed in, pushed away and hidden in the back of the shelves where no one will be able to hear our voice. Where no one will be able to find us. Where the spotlight can once again be stolen and given in the hands of men, shining on them and you can see the look of sheer ignorance on their face. Research has found that works penned by male authors are reviewed more frequently by literary publications. Nicola Griffith, a British-American novelist looked at literary fiction awards of 15 years to analyze how between 2000 and 2015, the Pulitzer Prize was not given to even a single woman writer.
But where ignorance is bliss, it can also be destructive and cataclysmic. The voices of women cannot be shut down for ever. It is essential to realize that the womanly perspective is pure and cosmic. Then I took it upon myself to buy more books written by non-male authors and it was a beautiful journey.
It took time to first familiarize myself to their names, to their words to their writing and their lexicon. Then I knew it is not enough to just skim through but to dive head-first into the frenetic imagery of their words, the perspective they have to offer, an alternative understanding of our lives, as women.
The stories of women are multi-layered, intricate and complexed with emotional depth and wit. It is upon us to amplify the voice of women and the non-binary when we are so often told to tone down our opinions and our ideas. The literary world is full of male authors being acknowledged by students and readers every single day but works of non-male authors is never brought to the front of shelves. But the work of women authors is the sine qua non we need to rekindle the love for reading once again. Women of all ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
I came across this piece by Gloria E. Azaldua which expounds why it was important for her to claim her space in the literary world, why it is important for all of us, as women, to claim our space in the world. Because even in literature, apart from the corporeal world, the diabolical grasps of the patriarchal notions will never leave us alone:
“Why am I compelled to write? Because the writing saves me from this complacency I fear. Because I have no choice. Because I must keep the spirit of my revolt and myself alive. Because the world I create in the writing compensates for what the real world does not give me. By writing I put order in the world, give it a handle so I can grasp it. I write because life down not appease my appetites and hunger. I write to record what others erase when I speak, to rewrite the stories others have miswritten about me, about you.”
