Nigerian journalist and author of Africa Is Not a Country, Dipo Faloyin, was frustrated by the fact that when most people think of Africa, they picture one of two things, poverty or safari: ‘I wanted to create something that both dispelled those myths while painting a comprehensive, reality-based picture of the past, present, and future of the continent.’
First Draft is our interview column, featuring authors and other prominent figures on books, reading, and writing.
Our questions are italicized.
What books or kinds of books did you read growing up?
I adored murder mysteries and autobiographies. I couldn’t get enough of whatever adventure Enid Blyton was publishing—specifically The Famous Five—and whatever life story of rags to riches my favourite wrestler or footballer was putting out. There is a symmetry to both genres, puzzles of persona and time and place that need fitting together.
If your life so far was a series of texts, which text (fiction or non-fiction) represents you at this moment?
That’s the essay: ‘How to Write About Africa’ by Binyavanga Wainaina.
What’s the last thing you read that changed your mind about something?
As a journalist, I’m constantly reading things that, at the very least, expand my knowledge and bring me a perspective that I’ve never heard before...
Every year, The Republic publishes the most ambitious writing focused on Africa, from news and analysis to long-form features.
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