Coming of age stories are a often visited theme in young adult and even middle grades literature. It is not a common theme in picture books, however. Forthcoming from Catalyst Press, Wankijũ, Child of Mine is a picture book bildungsroman of a Kenyan girlhood. Like other titles from Catalyst Press, it gives pride of place … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Wankijũ, Child of Mine
The Postcolonial Animal: African Literature and Posthuman Ethics by Evan Maina Mwanga African culture is intimately connected with animals, from literature to spirituality; non-human animals are central to African beliefs and practices. Animals are featured extensively in African literature and are prominent in philosophy and political movements. But despite this, Africans are rarely featured in … Continue reading #Veganuary: The Postcolonial Animal: African Literature and Posthuman Ethics
READ Dust, by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, opens with the shooting death of a young man on the streets of Nairobi. He is killed by the police after stealing back the car that was stolen from him. The young man’s name is Moses Ebewesit Odidi Oganda (Odidi), and his death shatters his family: his estranged father Nyipir, … Continue reading The Booktrekker: Kenya
Title: Sulwe Author: Lupita Nyong’o Illustrator: Vashti Harrison ISBN-10: 1534425365 ISBN-13: 978-1534425361 Bestseller, Sulwe written by Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o is a recipient of numerous awards and is featured in Netflix’s show, Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices. This powerful story addresses colorism and how it can be hurtful. All children should know they are beautiful in … Continue reading #BlackIsBeautiful: Sulwe
To read global literature is to accept the compromise of translation. Even the most polyglot among us cannot hope to read everything that interests us in its original language. English has become the somewhat grudgingly accepted lingu franca for most of the world, yet to read and write in English is to speak the colonizer's … Continue reading Literature of Exile: Kenya’s Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
Check out these 11 books of poetry, comics, short stories, novels and non-fiction anthologies. All by African writers. All #ownvoices. Meanwhile... Graphic short stories about everyday queer life in Southern and East Africa. By the Qintu Collab. English. Short Story Collection. So this work that we all do as artists and culture makers – we … Continue reading #GlobalPRIDELitMonth: Queer Africa: #ownvoices books from LGBTQ2IA+ African Writers
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 