Writing is an act of resistance: Iraqi novelist

For Inaam Kachachi, writing is an act of resistance. The Iraqi novelist and journalist uses fiction to hold on to a version of her home country that exile has tried to erase.

Speaking in a session at the 44th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), she described her work as a way of keeping memory alive, a response to the loss of a homeland transformed by war and absence.

Her stories offer a record of culture, longing and belonging that crosses borders.

She reflected on her decades-long separation from Baghdad during a session titled “Writing a Life (A Glimpse at the Work of Novelist Inaam Kachachi),” describing the Iraqi capital as unrecognisable from the one she once knew.

Tracing her early love of language to her parents, Kachachi recalled how her mother encouraged reading through regular library visits and readings from classical Arabic writers. Her father’s habit of reading newspapers aloud sparked an early interest in journalism.

Reflecting on her move to fiction, Kachachi dismissed the idea of neutrality in literature. Citing her novel The American Granddaughter, she explained how it explores the lives of Iraqi translators who worked with American forces.

“I didn’t write to condemn or justify, but to merely understand,” she said.

Describing her experience of exile, Kachachi said, “I have lived in Paris for decades and follow French cultural life, but remain socially isolated from French circles despite being naturally sociable.” While exile has given her the space to write, it has also reinforced her emotional connection to Iraq. “The distance between me and Iraq is only geographical,” she said. “Emotionally, I remain deeply connected.”

Addressing how Arabic literature is received in the West, Kachachi critiqued the preference for narratives that frame Arab women as weak. “When I wrote about a respected Iraqi woman, they didn’t like it,” she said. “It’s as if they need a constant tragedy to feel like they’ve embraced and supported us.”

Kachachi expressed pride in receiving the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Award but admitted, “I’m happy to be honoured, but I’m far from my Arab audience.”

That distance, she said, limits the direct connection with those she writes for.

Closing the session, she said, “Cultural alienation does not affect those with strong roots.” Confident in the continuity of Arab culture, she added, “I don’t fear for my culture. I feel a kind of confidence that comes from the civilisation we come from.”