I had the pleasure of attending this year’s Farafina Creative Writers Workshop in Lagos, Nigeria. It was taught by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Binyavanga Wainaina, Eghosa Imasuen and Aslak Sira Myhre. I had intense and enlightening conversations, lots of laughter and a crash course in pidgin. But this post isn’t about the trip, per se. It […]
I was delighted to find my cousin waiting for me when I got off the bus. She’d arrived from Nairobi around 8:00 p.m., dropped off her luggage then returned to wait for me at the bus company’s office from 9:30 p.m. We threw my bag into the backseat and happily chatted on our way to […]
Tony didn’t have much say in his life. That’s why, one day, a tall man with kind eyes, an “Amercan” accent and a matted beard was deposited at his house. Mike, his 26-year-old cousin was back from the land of the KFC and the KKK. And Tony’s mother was determined that her late sister’s son […]
Yesterday I saw my bus pull away. It drove right past me. Slow. Deliberate. The driver tooted his horn. I raised my hand. Moving it in the motion of goodbye. Staring at the faces of my works. Unfriendly friendlies. They looked askance. Mouthing wordless pleas. I looked away. Buried my hands deep in my pockets. […]
“It’s going to be alright, yaah…Surgery might reverse the process. I’m sure the…” I shifted my focus from his mouth to his hands as they folded, bent and cut across the air. His brown hands, like lightly toasted samosas, were firm but soft and always gentle whenever he examined me. I remember how he’d walked […]
This is how it happened…. Last month LA Times Magazine requested UP Magazine to recommend a Kenyan band and track for their June 2011 music issue. They wanted between 30-50 words describing both the band and the song. My boss felt that this was right up my alley since I handle all things Arts & […]