Culture & Society
Love and War The War That Stood Between My Ex and Me
Our ‘us’ dissolved into thin air because the trauma of war that haunted our fathers shaped our view of love and without a conscious awareness of it, led us to make impossible demands of each other. Read more. Read More...
‘I Liked to Think of Myself as a Cool, Distant Observer of the World’ Simukai Chigudu’s First Draft
Academic and author of The Political Life of an Epidemic: Cholera, Crisis and Citizenship in Zimbabwe, Simukai Chigudu, is expanding his writing beyond traditional academic work and into narrative nonfiction. Read our interview. Read More...
Head Above Water The Negotiations of Buchi Emecheta
Having been brought up in a culture of storytelling, Buchi Emecheta would have been aware, from a young age, of ways in which her local tradition marginalized women and reinforced male supremacy. Read more. Read More...
‘Assume Knowledge.’ Chika Unigwe’s First Draft
Author of 'On Black Sister’s Street' and ‘Head Above Water: Scanning Buchi Emecheta’s Oeuvre’, Chika Unigwe, believes it is important for an author to know as much as possible about the characters they are writing about. Read our interview. Read More...
‘Writing a Novel Is Fun.’ Peace Adzo Medie’s First Draft
While writing her novel, ‘His Only Wife’, Peace Adzo Medie, discovered Toni Morrison’s quote, ‘If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’ Read our interview. Read More...
‘Criticism Helps Us Grow.’ Elizabeth Ben-Iheanacho’s First Draft
Critic and author of ‘Achebe’s Women’, Elizabeth Ben-Iheanacho, wishes more authors appreciated the productive purpose of criticism. Read our interview. Read More...
Stepping Out of the Shadows Funmi Iyanda’s ‘Walking With Shadows’
With its gay Nigerian protagonist, Walking with Shadows, Funmi Iyanda’s movie adaptation of Jude Dibia’s 2005 novel, promises ambition but is, ultimately, a modest step in the long journey of contending with the extent of Nigerian (in)humanity. Read more. Read More...
‘Revolution Is a Collective Act.’ Lanaire Aderemi’s First Draft
Writer and author of ‘Egba Women Unite!’, Lanaire Aderemi, wants to correct the misconception that African revolutions revolved around elite individuals. Read our interview. Read More...
The Revolution Is a Song! Music in Africa’s Liberation and Freedom Struggles
In their contributions to local African resistance, musicians today such as Uganda’s Bobi Wine, who face increasingly autocratic governments, draw from the legacies of older artists such as Fela Kuti, Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba. Read more. Read More...
‘Beginnings are Easier Than Endings.’ Bim Adewunmi’s First Draft
Producer on This American Life and co-host of Thirst Aid Kit, Bim Adewunmi, says podcasts are not as easy to produce as they may sound. Read our interview. Read More...
