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Writing by Kazakh Women

January 2018

In this collection, originally featured in the January 2018 issue of Words Without Borders, we present writing by Kazakh women, introduced by Shelley Fairweather-Vega and Zaure Batayeva.

Writing by Kazakh Women

By Shelley Fairweather-Vega & Zaure Batayeva

Kazakhstan is the largest country by landmass to emerge from the breakup of the Soviet Union aside from Russia itself, but it has had an undersized impact on world literature.

The Nanny

By Aigul Kemelbayeva

The technological age regulates social relations with its robotic fingers, and it does not give a damn about your naturally noble spirit.

Translated from Kazakh by Shelley Fairweather-Vega

Dismissed

By Zaure Batayeva

“Who needs Kazakh? We are moving to Russia anyway.”

Translated from Kazakh by Zaure Batayeva & Shelley Fairweather-Vega

The Beskempir

By Zira Naurzbayeva

It was the old grandmas themselves, each and every one of them, who were most interesting to me.

Translated from Russian by Shelley Fairweather-Vega

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