A Small Silence is the debut novel by Nigerian poet Jumoke Verissimo. The story is sad, funny, and inspiring all at once and introduces two of the most intriguing characters I have encountered in Nigerian fiction in a long while. Most importantly, the novel showed me how sound could heighten the emotional intensity of […]
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Read an Exclusive Excerpt from Jumoke Verissimo’s A Small Silence
We are happy to share an exclusive excerpt from Jumoke Verissimo’s A Small Silence, which comes out on July 30. The novel tells an unusual story, one that readers will find delightfully surprising. Every day at 9 pm, a young woman named Desire visits an ex-prisoner named Prof. in his dark apartment (he likes the […]
Books & Rhymes Podcast is Using Music to Inspire Readers of African Books
Books & Rhymes, one of our favorite Instagram book review platforms, is expanding into the podcast scene, and we are beyond delighted. The Books & Rhymes podcast is based on the brilliant idea of pairing books and music. The presenter Sarah Ozo-Irabor takes listeners on a delightful journey through the heart of a book, with […]
#PoetryTalk | Poetry is the Excavation of Hidden Things | Interview with Titilope Sonuga
Nigerian-Canadian poet, writer, and performer, Titilope Sonuga is the featured guest of this week’s #PoetryTalk interview series. We discuss her long-awaited poetry collection, This is How we Disappear, Chibok girls, womanhood, female victimization, and poetic form. *** Titilope Sonuga Titilope Sonuga is an award-winning poet, writer and performer who calls both Edmonton, Canada and Lagos, […]
EVENT | Books & Rhymes Live Show is an Evening of Music, Literature and Discussion
Here is something for the folks in London. Sarah Ozo-Irabor is hosting a live show for her podcast Books & Rhyme, and you can be in the audience. The show features bestselling novelist Sarah Ladipo-Manyika on the 23rd of May at the Iconic Foyles bookshop in London. The Books & Rhymes live show is an […]
The Poetics of the Outcast in Wayétu Moore’s She Would Be King | Reviews by Ainehi
1 She Would Be King by Wayetu Moore takes me back to one of the most tragic characters in African literature. Unoka the father of Okonkwo. Unoka always had trouble fitting in. As a child, he roams village roads, singing to birds instead of learning to farm yams. He grows up to become the least […]
#PoetryTalk | Every Poem is Mystical and Every Poet a Mystic | Interview with Umar Abubakar Sidi
Umar Sidi is a helicopter pilot with the Nigerian Navy. He is the author of Striking the Strings, the poetry chapbook The Poet of Sand (Saraba) and the poetry collection The Poet of Dust (Konya Shams Rumi). His work has appeared in Brittle Paper, Transition Magazine, and elsewhere. In this edition of #PoetryTalk, Uchechukwu Peter […]
Photos | Leila Aboulela Launches New Novel at the Lahore Lit Festival
The seventh annual Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) took place from Feb. 22 to 24 at the Alhamra Arts Center, Mall Road. Over 160 delegates from Pakistan and the world over convened to explore all things literature in 75 sessions over the course of three days. Leila Aboulela—one of our favorite writers—was there as a featured […]
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