My first time to read Yvonne Vera, about 14 years ago, I wished I had written most of her novels and short stories. One particular story that stood out was, Why Don’t You Carve other Animals. Lately I’ve been thinking about that story, rereading, and still wishing that I had written it. I first saw […]
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The world of Angela Carter and Nalo Hopkinson
I think one of the pleasures of great literature is to come to the end of a story and realize that you’ve read it before, but something magical, fantastical, or darker and absurd has been added to it. That’s the joyous feeling I get when I read Angela Carter and Nalo Hopkinson. I recognize their […]
Mat Johnson’s PYM: A Historical and Satirical Fantasy
I was attracted to a novel with three letters: PYM. Picked randomly in the mystery section. Since I was in search of mystery works, I thought it would do. One other thing I did remember to consider was reading the first sentence: “Always thought if I didn’t get tenure I would shoot myself or strap […]
Exploring Jeanette Winterson’s writing
Reading Jeanette is like embarking on a poetic body-heart-mind journey trusting that there will be a destination. Even if none surfaces, there’s so much pleasure in the reading process because of her style that defies form and traditional plot lines. Quantum physics is thrown in, and there’s great joy finding Newton and Einstein decoded on […]
José Eduardo Agualusa, remarkable Angolan writer
Now to my really favorite writer, North of Limpopo, South of Sahara, West of the Atlantic and East of Indian Ocean, José Eduardo Agualusa. I know it sounds like an exaggeration but there are many reasons to love this writer. His writing is fresh air in the real sense of the word. You only have […]
Mia Couto and Mozambique fiction
We’re in Mozambique, ladies and gentlemen. Portuguese speaking since 1400’s, since Vasco da Gama alighted there in 1498, and by 1505, Mozambique had fallen in the hands of Portuguese rule. So the first Coat of Arms was Portuguese, the second Portuguese, and the third revised Portuguese East Africa. There were at least four versions of […]
Stoku, the new literary form according to Ben Okri
Ben Okri is back. This time not with just a new book but a new experimental form in the name of Stoku. In his own words, “A stoku is an amalgam of short story and haiku. It is a story as it inclines towards a flash of a moment, insight, vision or paradox.”
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Memory Chirere’s cogent review of “Dreams, Miracles and Jazz”
A review has come out on the recently published short story anthology of new African writing: “Dreams, Miracles and Jazz“, in which my story, Land of my bones, is published.
Happy news & other news
Happy news: For the Pan African Literary Forum contest, I took first place in the Africana Fiction category. I am doubly honored as Junot Díaz, the Pulitzer Prize winning fiction writer and essayist, was the judge for that category. Other news: Two unpublished novels. One complete; one still in progress. Notes on both below.
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MKB: Dear Nyakisa, Good news! "The Animals of My Earth...
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Nyakisa Beth: Will it be available in Uganda?...
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Wm Epes: Dr. Barya: Hope you are well. Enj...
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