Mirene Arsanios: Notes on Mother Tongues

Lebanese writer and editor Mirene Arsanios meditates on the relationships between mother tongues, motherhood, and colonialism. In this pamphlet, she investigates the historical and personal circumstances that led to the loss of her “native” language. Written as a fictional essay, ‘Notes on Mother Tongues’ explores language as a field shaped by diasporic histories, class relations, and broken familial legacies. It strives to imagine mother tongues and motherhood beyond the labor of reproduction—languages that exist in troubled ecosystems where lack does not preclude repair.