Nisaba

This book is a reclamation. After thousands of years of co-option and deceit, women are claiming their rightful lineage as originators and innovators. This is a re-membering of identity, authorship, and leadership.

The scribal lineage initiated by Nisaba when she invented cuneiform writing is infused with a feminine worldview. That lineage was suppressed when Nisaba was demoted, obscured, and eventually erased as patriarchy consolidated with the rise of King Ashurbanipal and the continued Assyrian ascendancy. Nevertheless, cuneiform survived by adapting to Sumerian, Akkadian and Hittite.

This anthology contains the writing and art of women who celebrate the reclamation of Nisaba's lineage through their own expression. We reignite the phrase, "All praise to Nisaba."

The poems, stories, essays, blogs, drawings, masks, and articles contained in Nisaba's anthology are each a form of hymn to her, and a vow to not only continue Nisaba's legacy but to infuse it with emergent creativity.

This collection brings forward the spirit of invention and compassionate service that is feminine in nature, and that is dedicated to the continuity of a compassionate, storytelling humanity. The book is relational, inclusive, comprehensive and abundant with beauty. It flows out of the Nisaba tradition of literacy, education and outreach.

Edited by Dr. Stephanie Mines and Trista Hendren
Cover Art by Lauren Raine
Scheduled for 2027