Writer Feature: Selene Bey
The Writer's Notebook
*
The Writer's Notebook *
Selene is Algerian-English, and was born and grew up in the UK. She currently lives in France. She is one of IHRAM’s treasured writers. In this interview, she shares her musings, inspiration, and honest thoughts on her experience with us as an author and activist.
Her latest publication with IHRAM Press is Stone Feet Black Feet, a piece in IHRAM Quarterly Literary Magazine, Resilience Amidst Displacement: Voice of a Refugee.
Thank you for all you do, Selene.
Now be honest, how has your experience been with IHRAM Press? How did you find us and why did you choose to publish with us?
I was searching for publications that I thought would be interested in the topics I wanted to write about and I found that IHRAM Press was ready to take on an overlooked theme.
Would you recommend IHRAM Press to other writers/artists?
Yes, I would recommend IHRAM Press because this publication gives you the freedom to explore so many interesting themes.
Share a couple of quotes from your written piece/s published in IHRAM Literary Magazine 2024!
“They taught him the names of the rivers,
And cities of the motherland.
No Seine, no Rhône does he see here,
Though he could trace them on his hand”
“Squatting on rocks he twists his forelock,
Throwing stones as his companions graze.
And wonders if he would ever witness,
The departure of all those black feet, one day”
Now for the fun questions! What compels you to pick up a pen or open your laptop to free-write? And what inspires/influences your writing, particularly when it comes to addressing human rights issues?
Some stories just have to be written down and unless they aren’t, they tend to dwell in my stomach like boulders until I write down what must be done.
The human rights concerns addressed in the IHRAM literary magazine are often complex and challenging to navigate. How do you navigate the balance between highlighting these challenges and maintaining a sense of hope or optimism in your writing?
My instinct is to try to find humor in unlikely places. This helps me approach contentious subjects with a more light heart than might otherwise be the case.
How do you personally connect with our mission? Particularly on the power of art and literature to influence social change, and our values of beauty as a fundamental creative principle, sincerity, vulnerability, celebrating diversity, and opening doorways of engagement.
All these creative paths represent the human experience in some respect. So although many of our experiences differ, fundamentally our shared humanity allows us to better understand each other and various issues, through different mediums — poetry, art, music or literature.
The IHRAM magazine aims to celebrate authors contending with their identities within the context of their environments. How does your environment influence your view of the world (your home country, city, and surrounding culture)?
As someone of Algerian origin, living in France has been an interesting and somewhat confusing experience. I am now part of the very society that was once the colonial power affecting the lives of my own family and I wonder what they would think about that. I remain an outsider not only as a foreigner born in England, but one with origins from a former colony. In this environment, the word “Arab” comes with an added layer of complexity and here which is sometimes palpable.
In comparison, how does your intersectionality influence your view of the world (your personal beliefs, gender expression, religious affiliations, etc.)?
Whether I am in France, England, Algeria or elsewhere, I take my values and personal beliefs with me wherever I go, but that does not mean I will be perceived in the same way in all environments. I consider that being adaptable to different people and places means that you can be more understanding of other people and it forces you not to view the world only according to what you personally consider to be important.
Support Activist Writers
*
Support Activist Writers *
Read and enjoy all of Selene’s previously published work:
“Stone Feet Black Feet” IHRAM Press, 2024
“Sylvains Eggs” Rusted Radishes, 2024
“Zebra Legs” The Hemlock Journal, 2024
You can find Selene on Instagram.
