Dorothée-Myriam Kellou

My project at Villa Albertine consists of undertaking a literary research process in preparation for a novel that explores non-patriarchal approaches to Islam, weaving together memory, spirituality, intimate experience, and motherhood. It extends my work on the history of internment camps in Algeria and their effects on our communities, fragmented and disenchanted by colonial violence. A conversation with a researcher on the loss of spiritual filiations led me to question: how can we reimagine nourishing, just, and inclusive practices of faith, inherited from our histories, in which the feminine occupies a central place?

During the residency, I focused my research on three territories. In Algeria, I explored the Sufism inherited from my grandfather and the Alawiya order, to understand how its mystical teachings and dhikr practices can inspire contemporary literary forms. In France, I continued my readings and dialogues with thinkers and practitioners of Islam in relation to women, such as Éric Geoffroy and Kahina Bahloul. In the United States, I met with scholars and activists like Nassima Neggaz, Amina Wadud, and the Boundaoui sisters, to document their intellectual, spiritual, and community-based approaches.

This two-month residency allowed me to concentrate my meetings, readings, and observations, to gather rich and well-documented material for the novel, and to lay the foundations for a narrative in which memory, femininity, motherhood, and spirituality intertwine, exploring in poetic and narrative form the possible paths toward liberation.

I chose to focus my residency between Washington, New York, and Chicago — three cities where Islam is lived as heritage, intellect, and community practice. These places offer diverse worlds through which to document the spiritual and feminine filiations that will nourish my novel.

In Washington, I met with scholars and researchers in Islamic studies and Middle Eastern history, to document the intellectual and historical approaches that will inform the narrative. In New York, with its diversity and vibrant spiritual and cultural initiatives, I observed and engaged with influential figures of feminist Islam, enriching the novel’s transnational and contemporary dimensions. In Chicago, I met with activists and practitioners involved in community healing and in the lived, everyday expressions of Islam. Their work — intertwining spirituality, memory, and social justice — offered unique perspectives on how Islam can be experienced as a force of care and resistance.

These three cities represent complementary points of grounding: Washington for its academic and historical dimension, New York for its intellectual and spiritual experience, and Chicago for its embodied and community-based practices. The residency allowed me to concentrate my encounters and readings within a short yet intense period of time, and to lay the foundations of a transnational novel where memory, femininity, and motherhood intertwine to question the possibility of liberation.