Bassey Ikpi

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Features, Lit Scene, News January 29, 2020

The Top 15 Debut Books of 2019

The year 2019 was full. While it is gone, its books are not. In December, we released our list of The Notable Books of 2019 by African authors. As we look ahead into 2020, we list the year’s most notable debuts books and authors in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, some of which also appear in […]

Mental Health: 8 Books by African Authors You Should Read

The subject of mental health is often synonymous with shame, silence, and the need to hide away from the world. The age-long stigma attached to it has made the conversation a difficult one to have. According to MentalHealth.gov, mental health problems are actually far more common than people think. Early warning signs range from eating […]

In Her Debut Memoir, Bassey Ikpi Deepens Our Understanding of Mental Health by Sharing Her Own Journey

In 2004, while on tour with Def Poetry Jam, the Nigerian poet and spoken word artist Bassey Ikpi was diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder. By 2011, she had taken on advocacy, writing and speaking about mental health, and then founded The Siwe Project, a nonprofit encouraging people to seek help, inspired by the death by […]

African Writers Never Looked So Good! | See the Stunning Photo Shoot at Ake Arts and Book Festival

So when I heard African writers were convening at Ake, a small south-western town in Nigeria and home to Wole Soyinka, I thought I knew what to expect. They were going to strut around saying a whole bunch of smart things about African literature and other serious matters. When they were not edifying audiences in workshops […]