Book of Life

The Book of Life is made of letters written by the living to the dead. Since 2009, Odile Gakire Katese is soliciting letters from both survivors and perpetrators of the genocide, and, increasingly, from people around the world – the idea being that memories of trauma need to be actively brought into an affirmative realm through an act of imagination. The act of writing a letter creates a space of creation in the wake of death, trauma or tragedy. This act can then expand into other forms – turning isolated grief into collaborative life.

Through the workshop on The Book of Life, Odile Gakire Katese will work with participants on imagining, finding and crafting words to those who are gone. These letters will be presented during a performance at Goethe-Institut Kigali.