Learning to Listen
The Wife’s Tale is a ‘beautiful, complicated [and] sensual account’, according to Ondaatje prize judge and novelist Michèle Roberts. Its ‘original form and newly minted language create a strong, delicate structure embodying her grandmother’s spirit and will to survive.’ The book tells the story of Aida’s grandmother, Yetemegnu, through her marriage to a cleric and poet two decades older than her, fascist occupation, and the rise and fall of Haile Selassie.

At Wolfson, Aida will talk about The Wife’s Tale and explore the following questions: How do you record the life in English of a woman who did not speak English? How do you do justice to her singular voice, while also providing the context that informs that singularity? How do you tell the history of a rich and ancient culture, as far as possible on its own terms? What do you listen to and when do you really start to hear?
Date: 10 June 2019, 17:30 (Monday, 7th week, Trinity 2019)
Venue: Wolfson College, Linton Road OX2 6UD
Venue Details: Leonard Wolfson Auditorium
Speaker: Aida Edemariam
Organiser: Dr Kate Kennedy (broadcaster and historian (narrator))
Organiser contact email address: oclw@wolfson.ox.ac.uk
Topics:
Booking required?: Recommended
Booking url: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/aida-edemariam-learning-to-listen-tickets-61985140223
Cost: Free
Audience: Public
Editor: Katherine Collins