Field Ramble with Balsam Karam

03/20/24 • 20 min

On this episode we meet Balsam Karam to hear about her latest novel The Singularity. Set in an unnamed coastal town the story follows the impact of one woman’s death on another. It is a study of loss, migration and motherhood and a book that remains with you long after you’ve put it down.
Through bold formal experimentation Balsam builds a language of post trauma, moving from separate narratives that co-exist on the same line to episodic, crystalline remembering. This is definitely a book for those who’ve read and loved Claudia Rankine’s Citizen.
At its heart are searching questions about who we choose and choose not to see in society. And at a time when violence is so breezily explained away in our wider public discourse, The Singularity asks us to consider the depths and complexity of a single life and lasting impact of its loss.

The Singularity is published by Fitzcarraldo and is available now.
Thanks to Ian Hawgood (Tides) and Huw Marc Bennett (Y Gwydd) for the use of their beautiful music.
If you enjoyed our conversation with Balsam please leave us a review and subscribe where you get your podcasts to never miss an episode.

@fieldzine
www.fieldzine.com
www.patreon.com/fieldzine

Send us a text

@fieldzine
www.fieldzine.com
www.patreon.com/fieldzine

Previous Episode

Field Ramble with Magogodi oaMphela Makhene

Send us a text

On this episode of the Ramble, an interview with Magogodi oaMphela Makhene in which we discuss her stunning, debut short story collection, Innards. Set in Soweto (where Magogodi was raised) her stories map the lives of a small group of residents living under and after apartheid.

By turns shockingly violent and deeply funny Innards is beautiful wrought from the first page. It is fiction that lays bare the enduring nature of trauma and celebrates the capacity of people to pursue life amid daunting realities.

There is so much to love about Magogodi’s work, but for us, above all else, it is her determination that the reader come to her. Every story is told in a blend of the languages of Soweto. They are transportive in the truest sense, boldly immersive and unsparing. A sprawling set of relationships, histories and politics that we are left to explore.

It was a huge pleasure to hear how this remarkable book came into being. So, next time you're staring undecidedly at some book shop shelves, definitely give this a go.

An unforgettable debut that hits with all the force of the sun. Junot Diaz

Innards is a wonder. Magnificent and haunting. NoViolet Bulawayo

A relay of fearless burning emblems Paul Harding
Huge thanks to Huw Marc Bennett for the use of his song Y Gwydd
Subscribe to Field Ramble to never miss an episode.

@fieldzine
www.fieldzine.com
www.patreon.com/fieldzine

Next Episode

Field Ramble with Sinéad Gleeson

Send us a text

On this episode we hear from Sinéad Gleeson about her upcoming debut novel Hagstone. Set on a rugged island somewhere in the wild Atlantic it centres around the life of Nel an artist who draws inspiration from the landscape, folklore and unexplained phenomena that surround her. The island is also home to a reclusive community of women, the Inions, who task Nel with the creation of a new artwork, a request that leads her to uncover truths both about them and herself.

If you’ve read Sinéad’s essays or know her work as an editor then Hagstone is exactly as you’d imagine. Thought provoking, unafraid and above all else a work of great story-telling. It was great to get the chance to sit down with her and hear how the novel came into being. And, along the way, we also had the chance to look back at her essay collection Constellations, discuss the incredible energy of the Irish literary scene and the enduring presence of Maeve Brennan.

Hagstone a huge recommend and is published in just a couple of weeks by 4th Estate on April 12th

@fieldzine
www.fieldzine.com
www.patreon.com/fieldzine