Culture & Society
7 Books Originally Written in 7 African Languages
From Yoruba to Kikuyu, Wolof to Lingala, these 7 African books serves as a testament to the power of storytelling across borders and languages. Read More...
‘I Wanted to See if I Could Pull Off Writing an Interdisciplinary Book’ Fareda Banda’s First Draft
Zimbabwean academic and author of African Migration, Human Rights and Literature, Fareda Banda, wanted her book to explore the refugee/migration issue from the perspective of one whose people were being dehumanized: ‘I was also curious about whether literature could reach places or invoke emotions such as empathy, that law and policy did not seem to be doing.’ Read More...
‘My Favourite Books Are Those That Tackle Powerful Subjects With Elegant Prose’ Ijedike Jeboma’s First Draft
Nigerian writer and author of ‘Identity Formation in Buchi Emecheta’s Kehinde’ Ijedike Jeboma, decided to read all of Emecheta’s works and noticed a shift in her 1994 novel, Kehinde: ‘Emecheta’s legacy is often discussed in terms of the womanism-feminism divide, and I thought Kehinde marked a shift in her oeuvre that I hadn’t seen much commentary about, so I wrote it myself.’ Read More...
The Exceptional Mind of Cyprian Ekwensi The Writer, the Cityscape and the Faculties of Dreaming
On 26 September 1921, Nigerian writer, Cyprian Ekwensi, was born. Ekwensi saw himself as a custodian of Nigerian life and the patron saint of the city dweller. He wrote social commentaries where the Nigerian city or town took on the texture of a character. Read More...
MohBad’s Tragic Passing Being Young and Nigerian in Music
The death of Nigerian singer, MohBad, has come as a shock with young Nigerians pointing fingers at his former management. The issue raises questions about the troubling conditions young artists face while chasing their dreams. Read More...
The Chinua Achebe International Symposium Princeton University to Host African Scholars in Commemorating the Legacy of Chinua Achebe
Princeton University’s Africa World Initiative and Program in African Studies is hosting a symposium in honour of Chinua Achebe’s legacy and relevance. The Editor-in-Chief of The Republic, Wale Lawal, will attend as a speaker. Read More...
‘Writing a Book Is Both a Solitary and Collaborative Effort’ Farai Mudzingwa’s First Draft
Zimbabwean author, Farai Mudzingwa’s debut novel, Avenues by Train, was inspired by his interest to correct the false dichotomy between modernity and African cultural expression that exists in colonial texts: ‘I wanted to explore how cultures with disrupted spirituality and culture reconcile with modernity. There is a historical context to who we are at present as a people which is erased but necessary for our grounding today.’ Read More...
Through Time’s Lens The Enduring Message of Chinua Achebe’s No Longer At Ease
Reading Chinua Achebe’s No Longer At Ease in 2023, six decades after it was first published, the story offers a historical reckoning and a prophetic warning about Nigeria’s future. Did a refusal to heed this warning have a calamitous effect on Nigeria and its people? Read More...
Like a Compass Pointing to Nsukka 20 years of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus
20 years ago, Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, made her debut in the Nigerian literary scene with Purple Hibiscus. With all its masterfully curated elements that immediately stamped Adichie as a global literary voice, her 2003 novel remains an incisive guide to Nsukka. Read More...
August Reading 2023 Half-Year Reading from The Republic’s Contributors
Our 2023 August Reading list features the most important books so far this year based on recommendations from The Republic’s contributors. Read More...
