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Interview with Elizabeth Laird
- Source: Book 2.0, Volume 12, Issue 2, Dec 2022, p. 155 - 175
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- 27 Feb 2023
Abstract
Tales of journeys, and stories created and told by and about migrants, are common. Elizabeth Laird is a traveller and writer, as well as a teacher and folklorist. As a storyteller, she uses her narrative voice to share stories of those who have been marginalized, transplanted, exiled or forgotten. Many of her children’s novels draw upon her experiences of living and working abroad: from her years in Ethiopia, her time in Iraq when she had contact with the Kurds, life in Lebanon during its civil war, as well as teaching in Ramallah and Gaza, and refugee camps in Jordan. Her folk tale anthologies came about through friendships with storytellers and her story collecting in remote parts of Ethiopia and her travels in Kenya, and other places. This interview investigates experiences that contributed to the creation of her novels relating stories of refugees and migrants, while also exploring issues arising from such works.