Book Review and the Journey of my Translation of Gurbetelli Ersöz’s book: I Embroidered My Heart into the Mountains. The Diary of a Kurdish Woman Guerrilla 1995-1997

Abstract

In this text, I present my personal involvement in the translation and editing of the work: The Diary of a
Kurdish Woman Guerrilla by Gurbetelli Ersöz (Agra Publications, 2025). I describe the long-term
"adventure/journey" of this translation, which began with my first contact with Ersöz's writings in the
newspaper Serxwebûn (1998), later evolved through the creation of the art installation for documenta 14 (2017),
and culminated in the completed printed edition (2025). I explain the challenges I encountered in my attempt

to render the unique linguistic codes of the guerrillas—a process that required extensive research and cross-
referencing of information. Through the 181 footnotes and the explanatory comments I have added, I seek to

highlight the Diary not only as a profound personal testimony but also as a critical source for contemporary
Kurdish historiography and the radical women's movement in Kurdistan. My objective is to illuminate Ersöz’s
role as an intellectual and feminist who, through her writing, documented resistance to the patriarchal and
colonial structures of the Middle East.