AiW Guest: Sanya Osha. Afrobeats is arguably a musical genre that initially evolved tied to the apron strings, albeit tenuously, of the magnificent legacy of Nigeria’s Fela Kuti – but one that has nonetheless managed to find its own direction… Read More ›
Music
Review: “What language is he speaking?” – Musicians Abroad in Jamal Mahjoub’s ‘The Fugitives’
AiW Guest: Camilla Delhanty Jamal Mahjoub’s The Fugitives (Canongate, 2021) is a novel in three parts, detailing the reformation of the fictional Khartoum jazz band, the Kamanga Kings. We open with protagonist, Rushdy, son of a late member of the… Read More ›
Review~ Revisiting Home: Language and Identity in Akosua Zimba Afiriyie-Hwedie’s ‘Born in a Second Language’
AiW Guest Victor Zuze. Akosua Zimba Afiriyie-Hwedie’s chapbook, Born in a Second Language (Button Poetry, July 2021), proves to be rich and complete. This owes to her storytelling prowess. She does not waste words. Her lines are suffused with striking… Read More ›
Review: The Heshoo Beshoo Group – Armitage Road
AiW Guest: Phumelele Mzimela This rare apartheid-era collector’s item Armitage Road (originally released in 1970) is the only record by South African jazz ensemble The Heshoo Beshoo Group. In 2020, the album received a long overdue reissue by the Canadian… Read More ›
Q&A -‘Farewell Amor’ (2020) filmmaker Ekwa Msangi: talking immigration, cultural specificity, and racism in cinema
AiW Guests: Libby Gervais, Abi Taphouse, James Truscott & Maddy Holmes “Let’s actually think about who they are, not just what they are here to take from us”. Ekwa Msangi. Ekwa Msangi is a film director, writer and producer, who has… Read More ›
Review: Can We Really Decolonize the American University? – Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o at the University of Yale, 2021.
AiW Guest: Kadiatou Keita. It was exhilarating at first. I cheered Professor Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o on like he was performing. The March 2021 installment of the University of Yale’s English Department organised ‘African Writers in Conversation Series‘ featured Ngũgĩ wa… Read More ›
In other Words… AiW news and July’s wrap
As we move through the changed circumstances, timelines and spaces of now, we catch up on our monthly round-up of ‘other words’ – news on AiW’s radar, collated from across our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Please be in touch with… Read More ›
“I wish for my poems and music to do away with things I’m sure about. I wish for them to undo me, to unmake me”: Q&A with Petero Kalulé.
AiW Guest: Esther Mirembe. Petero Kalulé is a composer, poet, and multi-instrumentalist. Their music can be bought and listened to via Bandcamp, and their collection of poems Kalimba was published by Guillemot Press in May 2019 – you can buy… Read More ›
Q&A with Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King: “No one stays static, so language should not be static.”
AiW Guests: Korranda Harris & Birhanu Gessese Maaza Mengiste is an Ethiopian-American writer who has published two novels: Beneath the Lion’s Gaze (2010) and The Shadow King (2019). Mengiste’s fiction paints engaging portraits of life and engages with the themes… Read More ›
Call for Submissions: Film Africa 2020 (Deadline: 30 June)
Film Africa 2020 30 October – 8 November London, UK Film Africa is the Royal African Society’s biennial London festival, celebrating the best African and African diaspora cinema from across the continent. Now in its ninth year, Film Africa has… Read More ›
Call for Applications: Africa Is A Country Fellowship
We are delighted to share the announcement of the inaugural Africa Is A Country Fellowship Program. The purpose of the Africa Is A Country (AIAC) Fellowship is to support the production of original work and new knowledge on Africa-related topics… Read More ›
Event: The African Concert Series, London (01 & 29 November)
In 2019 the award winning Nigerian-Romanian pianist Rebeca Omordia launched the first ever African Concert Series in London, featuring monthly events of music by African classical composers. Described by the BBC World Service as “the African Art Music makes a comeback”, the programme of… Read More ›
Event: Afrika Eye Festival (Bristol, 4-10 November)
The South West of England’s biggest celebration of African film, arts and culture 4 – 10 November Voices of Africa! Afrika Eye is an annual film and arts festival in Bristol, UK and is the South West’s biggest celebration of… Read More ›
Event: Ake Arts & Book Festival, Lagos (24-27 October)
The theme for the 7th Edition of the Ake Arts and Book Festival is Black Bodies | Grey Matter. Ideas and ideals abound on the shape and form of the African body, but these are rarely formulated by those to whom… Read More ›
Call for Papers: Lagos Studies Association Conference, 2020 (Deadline: 30 November)
The 5th Annual Lagos Studies Association Conference Theme: Postcolonial African Cities at 60: Continuities and Discontinuities June 25-27, 2020 Lagos, Nigeria The postcolonial African city defies easy definition, even as African countries enter their 6th decade of independence in 2020. The 5th edition… Read More ›
Q&A: ‘The goal is to be free, not white’: an interview with Seun Kuti
AiW Guest Tọ́pẹ́ Salaudeen-Adégòkè Oluseun Anikulapo Kuti (born 11 January 1983), commonly known as Seun Kuti, is a Nigerian musician and the youngest son of legendary late afrobeat pioneer, Fela Kuti. Seun and his brother, Femi, are the two commercially… Read More ›
Event: ‘Deep End’, Somerset House, London (02 August)
‘Deep End’ Somerset House Studios, Lancaster Rooms London Friday 02 August 1930-2300 Deep End is an evening of poetry, performances and live music exploring Black diasporic identity. Deep end describes a body of water where the depth is greatest. It can also speak… Read More ›
Event: International Festival of Poetry and Performative Arts, Maputo (25-27 July)
The Mozambican-German Cultural Center (CCMA), Goethe-Zentrum Maputo and the Poetas D’Alma Collective will host the first edition of the International Festival of Poetry and Performative Arts in Maputo to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Poetry Night program, one of… Read More ›
Call for Papers: ‘Afrofuturistic Elements’, Annual Interdisciplinary Conference, U.S.A (Deadline: September 01)
The 10th Annual African, African American, and Diaspora Studies, Interdisciplinary Conference at James Madison University, Virginia, USA, 20-21 February 2020 We are delighted to share this call for papers for the panel titled, “The African Notebook: Afrofuturistic Elements in College… Read More ›
Call for Applications: Lake of Stars Festival 2019, Malawi (Deadline: 30 June)
After 15 years, Lake of Stars Festival returns this year in an exciting new format: Lake of Stars Discovery. The three-day celebration will take place in Kachere Kastle, 27-29 September. Located in the Nkhata Bay district, northern Malawi, Kachere Kastle is a… Read More ›