Captive #979484

Captive is a chapbook of vignettes that explores the feminine condition through the lens of Melissa. She questions her body, her longings, her thoughts and even her existence in a patriarchal society where both men and women look at the female body as an object that can be owned. Melissa, the protagonist is an adolescent who navigates in other names Mel and Veronica as her context conditioned her to limitations. Despite all trauma, Captive invites us to empower and celebrate womanhood instead of being shamed, victimized and silenced.
The structure of Captive is marked by a blend of prose and free verse poetry. The language demarcates itself from the repressive patriarchal language. The poetic tone as well as the shifts from English to French and even to Mauritian Creole reflects the Ecriture Feminine. The rupture or even the blanks altogether express a language free from repression where even silence speaks louder than words and contemplates vivid imaginations.

Anmay/Yamnah is a Mauritian writer and educator. She weaves English, French and Mauritian Creole to tell stories of identity, resilience, and transformation. Captive, her debut book, is an exploration of women's strength, agency, and the power of reclaiming one's voice.