Writing & Representation: Finding Your Voice

Now that I can say I’ve finally, at long last, published a novel, my thoughts circled back to this TED talk by Chimamanda Adichie, one of my favourite pieces on writing.

While her focus is on the danger of the “single story”, the part that resonated with me most was at the beginning — the conundrum of writing and representation.

I experienced a similar childhood to this prolific Nigerian writer.

My father loves literature, and he would give me books by Trinidadian V.S. Naipaul… but for the...