Art Work by Laolu Senbajo of Afromysterics

Curated by Brittle Paper, written by Ayodele Olofintuade, with images to accompany the stories by Laolu Senbajo, starting today, February 19th, and for the next six weeks get ready to enter the wondrous and terrifying world of an Abiku. Titled, Adunni: The Beautiful One Has Not Yet Died, this project is an urban fantasy ensemble made up of eight stories and conceptual artwork. 

I first learned about Abiku, spirit children, when I tried (and failed) to read Ben Okri's Famished Road as a teenager. As Brittle Paper explains: 

'Abiku is the Yoruba word for a caste of spirit    beings strangely bound to death. They are born to life as human children but die soon after their birth only to be reborn for yet another cycle of death and rebirth'.

In a piece written for Bella Naija, Ainehi Edoro of Brittle Paper goes into more detail on the Abiku phenomenon:

'Is there a standard life cycle for all Abikus? No. Every Abiku tells Mother Earth how long it intends to stay and does everything it can to stick to that time frame. Some Abikus pledge to die a few says after they are born or months. Others might stay till right after their wedding night. They may choose to return to the same family several times until the mother's body dries out with age or decide to make their rounds with different mothers'. 

Having given a brief background on Abiku, here's a bit on the project courtesy of Brittle Paper:

'Adunni: The Beautiful One Has Not Yet Died is an eight-story ensemble built on the strange and terrifying world of an Abiku. For millenia, Adunni has had a good run as an abiku - no bereaved family or powerful Babalawo has tried to prevent her return to the spirit world. 

Ages of successful, glitch-free comings and goings have made her powerful, envied by fellow Abikus, loved by Mother Earth. But her luck runs out when she is born into the Lamorian family. 

Adunni: The Beautiful One Has Not Died is a gripping story of betrayal and lust for power. It is also a story of death and struggle to overcome death. Conniving and power-hungry gods are pitted against weak, selfish, and clueless humans. A pastor's fervor is set against a Babalawo's wisdom.  A mother's undying love is tried by a child's terrifying power. Adunni's story is not, for all this, a mythological fable. It occupies that weird place where mythology tips over into urban fantasy. Adunni is set in present day Lagos and written by Ayodele Olofintuade, who knows so much about Yoruba cosmology that she can break the rules in unexpected ways'.

The series sounds fascinating, but I'm also really loving the artwork by Laolu Senbajo. All that's left to say is check out Brittle Paper starting February 19th (and for the next six weeks) to follow the tale of Adunni, which by the way I have always thought is a beautiful name. 

Jalada Africa is a pan-African writers' collective, made up of writers who took part in a Writing Workshop by Kwani Trust, Granta & British Council in 2013. Jalada Africa's aim:

'to publish literature by African authors regularly by making it as easy as possible for any member to publish anything or execute any literary project as quickly and effectively as possible'.

Their first project, an anthology of twelve short stories, Sketches of a Bald Woman in the Semi-Nude and Other Stories, (loosely themed around insanity) was published in January 2014 and is available to read on their website.

Their next anthology will be published in April 2014 - and their aim is to publish new anthologies every quarter.

Rhumba South African film director and screenwriter, Elaine Proctor’s, first novel was published in 2012. This is another novel that I really wanted to read when it first came out, but never got a chance to until recently. This is also another review coming in much later than I anticipated. Thank you also to Quercus for the review copy. 

Set in an immigrant Congolese community in North London, Rhumba is the story of Flambeau – a ten year old boy who was smuggled out of Congo to live with his mother’s family in London for a better life. Flambeau’s mother, Bijou, was meant to come soon after him, but she never showed up. While waiting, Flambeau experiences abuse at the hands of his uncle. He eventually decides to go look for her and feels the sapeur he meets called Knight, might be able to help. He also meets Eleanor, Knight's Scottish girlfriend. With time, Flambeau and Eleanor develop a bond. 


I seem to be reading a lot of 'not-so-happy' stories lately. Here's a little boy who has been smuggled into London, is abused, is homesick and misses his mum. Yet, through Flambeau’s youth and innocence Elaine Proctor manages to write a story about hope.So while this could have been a depressing immigrant story, from Flambeu's eyes it makes you realise that there is hope even in the darkest circumstances.  Another thing I loved was how through her writing I could ‘see’ what I was reading - the rooftop where Flambeau hunts down pigeons, his conversations with Eleanor. Most of all, while reading it I felt that there really was rhumba playing in the background. Honestly, I probably should have listened to some Rhumba while I was reading it.  Elaine Proctor even selects some of her favourite Congolese rhumba music and artists mentioned in the book. 

Overall, I did enjoy this book, with equal parts of pain and hope. 

The FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival (formerly The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival) is an annual literary festival where you can meet and listen to authors and public figures in ... well, Oxford. 

This year it's happening March 22 - 30 and already the line up includes the Children's Laureate, Malorie Blackman, Alexander McCall Smith, author of The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series and more. They also have scheduled an India day and an Italian day.

As the title of the post states, Taiye Selasi will also be there. Her talk is scheduled for 10am on Sunday 23rd March at Bodleian: Divinity School.

Selected as one of Granta's 20 Best Young British Writers in 2013, Taiye Selasi's debut novel Ghana Must Go a story about the Sais - a broken family - was selected as one of the best books of 2013 by the Wall Street Journal and The Economist. In 2005, her text on Afropolitans', Bye-Bye, Babar was published in The Lip Magazine. She has also written two short stories, The Sex Lives of African Girls, which was published in Granta in 2011 and appeared in Best American Short Stories 2012 and Driver - also in Granta.

It's a good thing the beau lives in Oxford. Now I'm just going to have to convince him to see Taiye Selasi at 10 am on a Sunday. Wish me luck!!! Also must remember 1) to bring my copy of Ghana Must Go, 2) not be too shy to ask her to sign it if the opportunity arises, 3) get said beau to do it as most certainly I will be too nervous to approach her.