Julie Cairnie is an Associate Professor in the School of English and Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph (Canada). She teaches and researches southern African literature — with special interests in gender, sport, and childhood. Her academic and creative work is deeply informed by her experience as a temporary teacher in Mutorashanga (Zimbabwe) in the late 1980’s. Some of her recent publications include a biographical essay, “Eating Lemon Poppy-Seed Muffins with Yvonne Vera” (Emerging Perspectives on Yvonne Vera, Africa World Press, 2012) and a co-edited multi-media anthology, Moving Spirit: The Legacy of Dambudzo Marechera in the 21st Century (Lit-Verlag, 2012). Julie is close to finishing her first novel, The Book of Everything, set in three countries close to her heart: Scotland, Canada, and Zimbabwe.
Dear Matilda,
I hope you don’t mind that I’m writing in your notebook, but I couldn’t think of any other way to reach you. In the morning I’ll ask Mercy to take it to your parents’ house in the compound. After all, it belongs to you. For me, what happened all comes down to a simple fact: you needed me and I let you down. We were only running partners, but still. I never told anyone, and I suspect you didn’t either. What would we say? If you do end up reading this letter, I hope it will mean something to you, that you might find it possible to trust another girl like me, although not from here. Better Canada or Australia, somewhere without an ugly history that bullies its way into people’s lives.
