50books_poc | Entries tagged with african

This is going to take me more than a year but I am determined to hit 50 eventually. So far this year I have 3 in the bag.

1: The Blind Man's Garden by Nadeem Aslam 3 ★
2: A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa 4★
3: Baracoon by Zora Neale Hurston 4★

I would highly recommend Baracoon. It was written in the 30s and is the account of the last African captured by slavers and taken to the United States. Hurston was asked to edit his story into modern English and refused as she wanted his story to be as he spoke. It is only this month that the book is being published. I only wish it were longer.

pauraque

Content warning: The book depicts rape, beatings, and female genital cutting, but they're not discussed in this post.

This is the story of Mende Nazer, who was abducted from her home in Sudan in 1993 and sold into slavery. Throughout her teenage years she was forced to do domestic work for a wealthy family, before being sent to work for her "master"'s sister, the wife of a Sudanese diplomat living in London. While in London she was finally able to make her escape and successfully seek political asylum. This was a big news story a few years back, some of you may remember hearing about it. Since the book's publication, she has become a British citizen.

The book is well-written and engaging, and tells a story the world needs to hear, a story that is not extraordinary, but rather all too common. The only extraordinary thing about it is that Nazer escaped, whereas most people in her situation never do.

But here's my problem: The co-author, Damien Lewis, who is white. At the time of writing, Nazer had only been studying English for a year, maybe less. She spoke two other languages fluently, but instead of using a translator, Lewis had her talk to him in English, and he interpreted and wrote down what she said in his own style. That it is his own style is obvious from reading his afterword that explains the writing process -- it's the same voice. He says it was done this way because her story was far too "personal" for a translator to come between them. He, and only he, could achieve the "closeness" with her to help her express her thoughts. Hmm. This is my skeptical face.

But it's okay, because Lewis is an "expert" on Sudan, according to his bio blurb. I notice it doesn't mention his age, while Nazer's bio eagerly and irrelevantly informs us yet again (it's mentioned multiple times in the text) that her tribe -- gasp! -- doesn't record exact birthdates. How exotic! It is obvious why she needed this White Expert to render HER story into HIS own words.

Okay, sarcasm off. Sorry. To be fair, several years have passed and Nazer speaks good English now (yay Youtube) and has not, to my knowledge, disowned the book or Lewis. It's up to her how her story is put forth. I just have to be honest about my personal reaction to reading it, which is that I really wanted Mende Nazer's voice, and was frustrated by the feeling of having to dig through layers of Damien Lewis's voice to get to it.

[eta: Note that author Damien Lewis is not the same person as actor Damian Lewis, as Wikipedia believes. Someone oughta fix that.]

tags: a: Nazer Mende, w-a: Lewis Damien, African (Sudanese), Muslim, genre: memoir, subject: slavery, setting: Sudan

spiralsheep.livejournal.com

6, 7, & 8. Three poetry collections by Moniza Alvi: Carrying My Wife, A Bowl of Warm Air, and The Country At My Shoulder (all three collections are available together in an omnibus also called "Carrying My Wife"). I have to admit, out of about 150 poems, there were three that did anything for me. I mostly found the expression of content incomprehensible, possibly due to the author reaching for innovative imagery, and the aesthetics of form uninteresting, but she's a comparatively popular mainstream Establishment poet so my judgement is extremely questionable (and I haven't heard her read her own work live). There are two of the poems, which did speak to me, at my dw journal.

9. The Redbeck* Anthology of British South Asian Poetry, edited by Debjani Chatterjee, is a nearly 200 page collection with a wide variety of content and style, which I enjoyed. There are two example poems at my dw journal and a third example poem but, of course, three poems can't reflect the breadth (or depth) of this anthology.

* I keep misreading it as "Redneck". ::facepalm::

10. The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan didn't appeal to me visually as much as the previous Tan books I've perused but the gist, that it's more important to be happy than to fit in, is another good theme, especially for kids.

Note to tag wranglers: "british-asian" and/or "british-south-asian" is correct usage and, yes, some of the authors (and/or their subjects) are also caribbean / african / &c.

Tags: women writers, poetry, anthologies, asian, british-asian, pakistan, britain, british, caribbean, african, bangladesh, india, indian, indian-british, pakistani, bangladeshi, pakistani-british, bangladeshi-british, british-south-asian, asian-australian, australian, chinese-australian, picture books

spiralsheep.livejournal.com

4. I read Chinua Achebe's Collected Poems. I felt as if I'm not the intended audience for the majority of these poems. I'm not "African"/Nigerian/Igbo. Only a handful of the poems, mostly early "Biafra" poems, seemed aimed at me and my level of understanding. Instead I felt the great privilege of being invited into someone else's conversation as a listening party. So I read and allowed the poems to sink into my mind without flailing about for full understanding, which I find is often a productive way to interact with poetry.

Achebe's 1960s idea of "Africa" and "African" seemed, to me, to be very much a product of its time. Achebe's work also, I thought, began by speaking from Africa/Biafra/Igboland and moved into speaking about Nigeria/Igboland. But in such a brief collection, with free-standing poems communicating on their own internal merits, it's probably foolish of me to try reading conclusions into the work, and also highlights my position as an outsider who is detached from the central conversation Achebe is involved in.

Excerpt from Knowing Robs Us

[...] had reason not given us
assurance that day will daily break
and the sun's array return to disarm
night's fantastic figurations -
each daybreak
would be garlanded at the city gate
and escorted with royal drums
to a stupendous festival
of an amazed world.

There are a sample Chinua Achebe poem, and related art by Chaz Maviyane-Davies, at my dw journal.

Tags: africa, african, igbo, nigerian, poetry

pauraque

Born in Liberia and descended from the nation's founders, Helene Cooper lived there for 14 years as a member of the wealthy elite. She knew her homeland -- its unique history as a colony populated by former U.S. slaves, its sights, its tastes, its scents, its joys and its dangers. When Liberia's bloody coup d'etat finally came, Cooper had to leave a home she knew well.

But as she would come to realize, she did not know it nearly so well as she thought she did.

( Read more... )

tags: a: cooper helene, genre: memoir, author: black (Liberian), setting: Liberia & United States

tala-tale.livejournal.com

"Gifted" by Nikita Lalwani. ( Read more... )

"Girl Made of Dust" by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi. ( Read more... )

"Song for Night" by Chris Abani. ( Read more... )

bkworm9.livejournal.com

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela is a leading and notable figure in the fight against racial inequality and social injustice, but beyond a few vague facts, I found that I didn't know much about his life. That's why I decided to read this book.

In terms of educational value, Mandela's autobiography is gold, far outweighing the physical heftiness of the book (my copy clocks in at 638 pages). Beginning with his birth and childhood in the Transkei, moving through his schooldays and young adulthood, his introduction to and escalating involvement in the African National Congress (ANC), his work underground, the long years of imprisonment on Robben Island, his long-awaited release, and negotiations with the government, Mandela's autobiography is incredibly detailed. Yet, it was also readable and easily understandable. What I found most surprising was Mandela's stance on violence as an option in effecting democratic change to a nonracial society, as I had previously thought Mandela followed in the footsteps of Ghandi in advocating nonviolence as the only means of protest.

This is an important book and as a reviewer from the Boston Sunday Globe stated, it "should be read by every person alive." Mandela's life story, especially his descriptions of the political maneuvering of the ANC and other groups, would be particularly helpful for readers who are engaging in other movements for social justice.

My only complaint with the book is that I would have liked to read more of Mandela's contemporaneous writings and opinions during the times in which he was experiencing momentous events. While there are a few excerpts of his writings and speeches, it's not enough to really understand what he was personally thinking or considering at any given time. However, I hope this flaw will soon be remedied with the release in October of Conversations with Myself, which one publisher has described as "a look behind Long Walk to Freedom. This book, however, has provided an excellent foundation with which to move forward in understanding Mandela's lifelong struggle.

Current Mood: tired

hive-mind-d86.livejournal.com

4/50 Yoruba Culture: A Philosophical Account by Kólá Abímbólá

I wouldn’t recommend this for a complete beginner with absolutely no background knowledge of Yoruba culture. Abímbólá starts by praising an ‘inside-out’ approach to cultural studies and I think this book shows both the advantages and flaws of this method.

The advantage is the author’s obvious deep understanding of the logic, implications and philosophical underpinnings of his own culture. The flaw is a……disjointed sort of focus with some basic concepts stressed and some skipped over. Essentially his trouble communicating his culture clearly to someone from a different background.

This book clarified the Yoruba position on why evil is allowed to exist, gave brilliant descriptions of the culture’s inherent flexibility, a fantastic potted-history of the Old-Oyo Empire, fascinating points about language (especially the scope for misinterpretation given by the lack of gendered pronouns and the ability to combine words) and repeatedly stressed the idea that the word ‘sacrifice’ is not synonymous with ‘blood-offering’.

But the description of Yoruba medicine and religious practices didn’t give the impression of a practical belief system stressed in many western books on the subject. The language left an……..idea of mysticism and occultism at odds with the practicality Abímbólá claims. Then there’s the description of Eshu which I really couldn’t decipher-

The mix of clear and confusing explanations for concepts I was already familiar with left me wondering whether I’d actually understood new ideas, especially relating to the Yoruba idea of soul (indecently- Is a person’s Ori like their potential, what they’re personally capable of doing? Is the ese similar to willpower? Is Ori in the sense of a person’s ‘head’ separate to Ori in the sense of a personal God? Is the Ori a personality separate to the person?).

It’s an odd book but ultimately a useful one. It’s definitely given me a lot to think about and it doesn’t throw up any problems further research won’t solve. Most importantly it’s a thoughtful meditation on culture by an author who has obviously spent time and effort exploring all manifestations of ‘Yoruba’ the world over. This author loves his culture that shines from every page.

Current Mood: sleepy

vass

I've gotten a lot behind with this challenge. I took on another big reading challenge, and I just haven't been reading a lot of books apart from that. Nevertheless, here are the books by authors of colour I've read so far this year:

34. Marjorie M Liu, The Red Heart of Jade
35. Marjorie M Liu, Eye of Heaven
36. Marjorie M Liu, Soul Song
37. Marjorie M Liu, The Last Twilight

They're Marjorie Liu. You will either like them all or dislike them all. I like them, although I have to admit, they were more fun when I didn't know as much about the overarching backstory. Best read in order.

38. Tayeb Salih, Season of Migration to the North
This book is, or should be, a classic. It is also depressing and distressing. Some of the details are autobiographical: like both the protagonist and antagonist, Tayeb Salih was born in Sudan and studied in England. I just looked up Wikipedia and discovered that he died last year, aged 80.

This book is about the allegedly corrupting influence of African men on English women, and the actually corrosive effect of colonisation on African men. It is also about the choices of African women (the effects of colonisation on African women in the novel are left for the reader to draw her own conclusions.) It is about the gulf between London society and life in rural Sudan. It is about Othello.

My favourite character is Bint Majzoub, a seventy-year-old woman who swears like the men and has a hearty appreciation of sex. She is one of two female characters in the novel; the other is Hosna Bint Mahmoud. Bint Majzoub is in a complicated position where by accepting the strictures of her society, she has survived to a stage where to some extent she can rise above them. Hosna, by contrast, is in an impossible situation and sees only one way out. It is very clear that the freedom open to the protagonist, to seize control of his own life, is not open to Hosna; she has only one way to take control.

The gender politics of Season of Migration to the North are complex. There are many female characters, white and black, but they never talk to each other, and a conspicuous absence is the narrator's wife, mentioned but never described or heard of.

39. Harriet E. Wilson, Our Nig

Our Nig was the first book by an African American author to be published on the American continent (the first known book to be published by an African American author was first known novel by an African American was William Wells Brown's Clotel; or, The President's Daughter.)

Our Nig is about indentured servitude in the northern United States. It was first published in 1859. There is a free online copy here.

This very short novel brought home to me once and for all the difference between a book about and a book by a person of colour. Frado, the main character, is oppressed constantly. She herself hates God for making her Black. But her agency is never absent. In no part of the book is she a passive victim. Whether mental or physical, her resistance never flags.

tags: author: liu marjorie m, author: salih tayeb, author: wilson harriet, african-american, african, asian-american

anitabuchan.livejournal.com

I initially wasn't going to count uni reading for this, but since I haven't had time to read fiction for what feels like months, I'm giving that up :). Also, I thought these articles might be of interest to a few here.

21. Retrieving Women's History: Changing Perceptions of the Role of Women in Politics and Society, ed. S. Jay Kleinberg.

There are several articles by women of colour in this anthology, but the two I read were:

The Presentation of African Women in Historical Writing by Ayesha Mei-Tje Imam

Imam reviews historical writing on African women, discussing areas which have been studied, areas which haven't, and approaches taken towards African women in historical writing. I found the last bit most interesting. She outlines the four ways African women have generally been presented by historians: as oppressed and subordinate to men; as equal but different to men; as oppressed victims of colonial policy; and, most recently, as actors in social processes who have experienced a general decline in status due to colonialism.

She also outlines problems with the above four approaches, before linking the decline in status women suffered as a result of colonialism to both Christianity and capitalism. Christianity (and 'education') led to girls being raised as future wives and mothers, rather than future citizens. Capitalism, and changes in local economies, led to women losing economic power.

Breaking the silence and broadening the frontiers of history: recent studies on African women by Zenebeworke Tadesse

Tadesse gives a brief historiography of African women, before, as the title suggests, reviewing recent historical studies of African women. She explores the heroine/victim dichotomy she says has dominated the study of African women, arguing that they are either presented as eternal victims and passive objects, or as heroines of women's uprisings and as powerful matriarchs (as an example, she brings up the Igbo women's war). She then summarises various studies on subjects such as women and slavery (both women as slaves and as slave-owners), women in the colonial period, women and resistance, and urban women.

Overall, both articles are very interesting and informative for anyone looking for a quick guide to historical writing on African women.

Tags: a:imam ayesha mei-tje a:tadesse zenebeworke w-ed:kleinberg s jay

fiction-theory.livejournal.com

Title: The Salt Roads
Author: Nalo Hopkinson (NaloHopkinson.com; Author's Blog; @nalohopkinson)
Genre: Fantasy
Page Count: 392
Publisher: Warner Books

Reviewer's Note: I hope that the tags I have used are appropriate and as always, if any part or the whole of this review is not appropriate for this community, I will edit or delete immediately at the request of the moderators.

( Review: The Salt Road by Nalo Hopkinson )

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Writers of Color 50 Books Challenge

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Writers of Color 50 Books Challenge

Entries tagged with african

1.

17. Mende Nazer - Slave: My True Story

British Asian Poetry and Shaun Tan (again)

Poetry, Chinua Achebe

12. Helene Cooper - The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood

Books 4-6

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

4- Yoruba Culture: A Philosophical Account

Liu, Salih, Wilson

Retrieving Women's History

The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson