Professor Emeritus Mineke Schipper de Leeuw is the author of academic books, essays, literary non-fiction and novels. More information on www.minekeschipper.nl.

Over the years my research interest has developed from African literature –  oral traditions, novels and theatre – to intercultural projects comparing epics, creation myths and other genres in oral traditions all over the world, thanks to various international projects with African, European and American colleagues, and specialists of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Studying a collection of more than 15.000 proverbs about being a man or a woman from cultures worldwide developed into an intriguing history of humanity that has to do with all of us. Comparing proverbs in their bewildering views of men and women means building bridges across cultures. This breathtaking project resulted in my internationally acclaimed book Never marry a woman with big feet. Women in proverbs worldwide (Yale UP 2004), widely translated in many languages, and awarded in Amsterdam with the Eureka Prize in 2005. And, thanks to Leiden University, LUF- and NWO-funding the complete database turned into accessible and easily searchable website, containing the complete proverbs collection: https://www.womeninproverbsworldwide.org/ with visitors from all over the globe.

Most recent books: The Shrinking Goddess. Power, Myth and the Female Body (London 2024) and Widows. A Global History (Dutch, Amsterdam, 2023; English, Delhi, 2024; Arabic, Cairo 2025, forthcoming in Beijing and London).

Right now: research on the soul for a forthcoming book: although no one has ever seen a soul, worldwide it has been and continues to be referred to as a self-evident phenomenon in oral and written traditions as well as in the arts.

Publications