Anna Osei: “Freedom is an achievement”

When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, Anna Osei wasn’t sure if writing was a job. So, when in doubt, another thing answered: the lawyer. Today, after two successful books, Substance destination (Europe Editions) e Under the same sun (Mondadori), in which she talked about racism and the value of diversity, Anna has taken that path for real: for a few weeks she has been attending an internship in an important law firm in Milan, she says that time for writing is more difficult to be cropped, but it doesn’t bother her: “I’m trying to figure out which path to take, without haste” explains Osei, born and raised in Mantua, a second generation artist who has always seen writing as a mirror of her deepest emotions.

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When did you start writing?
“I think I’ve always done that, even though I got the idea for the first book when I was 17. In Substance destination I wrote everything I thought about racism and my emotions. I remember sending it to publishing houses without too many expectations: there I began to understand that it is something that could have been done ».

Where did the drive to start writing that book come from?
“I had reached the height of the episodes of racism that were unpleasant towards me. I wrote the book hoping that, one day, people would become better, but it did not happen: the work to be done is much harder than I thought. Not to mention that I was afraid I had exposed myself too much in those pages: it was as if I had given the reader everything that made me feel bad. A person with little sensitivity could have hurt me very easily. This is why in the second book, Under the same sun, I have chosen to focus not on those who discriminate, but on those who are discriminated against ”.

In fact, in the book he talks about an encounter that helps to recognize differences.
“It’s a book that tries to make people understand that it’s okay to be African and have two cultures. I wanted to make the reader understand that there is also beauty in being African. “We are all the same” is a somewhat dangerous phrase, because it minimizes the differences. All my life I have tried to be as Italian as possible to be accepted, but the truth is that we are all different under the same sun. Anyone who reads it will understand how many black people can look the same in the eyes of an outsider despite having a completely different nationality, behavior and perception of things ».

Do you think that having grown up in a restricted context like that of Mantua has somehow influenced your perception?
“With my sisters, we were the only blacks in school: all eyes were on us, both positively and negatively. Now I’m trying to live it better and to lend a hand to those in other cities who live in a similar situation without realizing it. Freedom, as the word itself says – consisting of three vowels that allow the mouth to make a progressive opening – must be conquered. We don’t become free overnight ».

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Do you think that attention to these issues has improved in these four years?
«In general, yes. Even if it depends a lot on the contexts: when, after high school, I moved to England, I discovered that even that universe had its defects ».

What does writing represent for you?
«A therapy. I can’t see myself writing a book completely detached from my emotions. There is always a part of me in the sentences I write: it is what allows readers to identify with certain feelings and emotions ».

Do you already have a new book in mind?
“No, although I have some ideas. When I stop with the internship, I expect to write something down. In the meantime I want to think carefully about it ».

His greatest talent?
«Sharing reflections».

(Opening photo by Giliola Chiste)