A woman is an Indian on “Terre à ciel” by Valérie Canat de Chizy
Murièle Camac approaches the theme of the feminine in a completely original way, giving free rein to metaphorical images, travel and imagination. Here we are transported to the confines of the New World from the first verses:
Once upon a time there was an Indian, a woman –
a woman is different – different from a man.
A woman is an Indian:
An Indian, therefore someone completely different.
Why an Indian? The collection is open, letting the reader grasp the subtleties of this association. On the one hand, the Indian masculine underlies the cohabitation of masculine and feminine in every human being. On the other hand, the notion of border emerges: a woman is also a territory, often exposed, sometimes transgressed; a fertile land to preserve. A woman is an Indian, that is to say a completely atypical person, who has retained her wild side, unlike the man in a suit, who is in the social relationship of domination.
Murièle Camac's writing is fertile and explores different avenues. So here we are on the trail of the Indians, exploring their mysterious territory. The different layers which separate woman from man are mentioned in particular, which are education shame distance . Which separate the woman from her desire.
distant percussion
she who has only ever known minuet tunes
slaves
on the way to planting
and how to learn to stay
The woman goes on a journey to discover the West, the New World. She explores, she discovers, she wants to leave her usual limits, to discover freedom; she makes a list of bird names: Each species has different songs: love song, fear song, death song.
The Indian, therefore, refers to the New World, to its destruction upon the arrival of the white man; also refers to the notion of disaster, when the world is coming to an end. The woman is exposed to the destruction of her boundaries, to humiliation. Murièle Camac talks to us about her vision of humanity in the last part of the collection, entitled Frontier . An uncompromising vision:
start a family
raise children
cultivate a garden
all this does not matter
only one name
at the border :
make war.
Valérie Canat de Chizy
Article published on Terre à ciel in June 2022:
Read and approved (June 2022) by Valérie Canat de Chizy - Terre à ciel (terreaciel.net)
Buy the book online: A woman is an Indian – Éditions Exopotamie