Last week, the American singer Aretha Franklin, venerated for her powerful voice, passed on. Tributes followed, reflections on the impact of the music, activism, and life of the woman called The Queen of Soul. Nigerian novelist Irenosen Okojie recently wrote about her in The Guardian, describing her as a “heroine, agony aunt, wise woman.” Okojie’s […]
Kwame Dawes, Warsan Shire, Nadifa Mohamed, Inua Elams, Chibundu Onuzo Elected into the Royal Society of Literature
Eight African writers have been elected into the Royal Society of Literature (RSL) as part of its 40 Under 40 initiative: poets Warsan Shire and Inua Ellams, novelists Sabrina Mahfouz, Nadifa Mohamed, Irenosen Okojie, and Chibundu Onuzo, , and playwright Bola Agbaje. Beyond the 40 Under 40 initiative, there were two more inductees: street rapper Mojisola Adebayo and poet Kwame Dawes, […]
My Favorite Books by African Writers in 2016 | by Zahrah Nesbitt-Ahmed
Call me biased, but 2016 was another great year for African literature. Cassava Republic Press launched in the UK with an aim to “change the way the world thinks about African writing.” Works written in African languages were translated into English — including two books published by Phoneme Media, Roland Rugero’s Baho! (said to be […]