Septembre 1916
Emma Z.
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My ninth book—the one I'm currently writing—is about war.
When I began the research process, I turned to the WWI era for inspiration, and I instantly fell down a digital rabbit hole of historical articles, documentaries, and personal stories written from the trenches. As I sat, learning about sentries and communication cables, I realized how little I knew about the Great War. In media, historical fiction novels, and even school curriculums, the Second World War overshadows the first, something I failed to notice until I took it upon myself to learn more.
I found soldiers' diaries and spent hours reading personal letters that never made it to their recipients. These hand-written accounts of a war-torn world were both gut-wrenching and eye-opening—just a fraction of the untold stories hidden in deep internet archives.
It was from this that "Septembre, 1916" was written. I wanted to uncover the past and bring to light these untold stories by portraying the grim reality of war through the eyes of a child. The short story takes place during the Battle of Verdun, fought on the Western Front in France during WWI, based on the lives of medics and nurses who volunteered on the front lines.
In every piece I write, whether it be a novel or a poem or a short story, I weave in a purpose. I wrote "Septembre, 1916" with two.
I hope that, over 100 years later, my writing can contribute to keeping the flame of remembrance lit; I believe that history cannot be forgotten, and it is through stories that we best remember. And, I write to honor those who have fought and sacrificed for a cause greater than themselves, the ones who've paid the high price for freedom. So, to the fallen soldiers whose diaries I stumbled upon: Thank you for sharing your stories, and thank you for trusting the strangers of the future to tell them.
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Creating allows me to transcend the limits of reality, stay significant and remain intellectually alive. I express myself using lines of prose and poetry; writing is how I leave my mark on the world, and literature allows me to live multiple times: once as a human, infinitely more as a writer.
