Two book festivals – Pa Gya! and Aké Arts and Book Festival – will both take place soon. Pa Gya! A Literary Festival in Accra, organised by the Writers Project of Ghana and hosted by the Goethe-Institut happens from 19th to 21st October 2018.  According to WPG,  there will be “over sixty writers, publishers, and literary organisations from Ghana and beyond. The festival will feature readings, book launches, workshops, panel discussions, poetry performance, music, talks, and more.”  Festival guests include Efe Azino Paul, Bisi Agyapon, Ayesha Haruna Attah, Billy Kahora, Nan ..read more

I’m not quite feeling my current format of titling these grouped review posts.  The previous one is “Short Reviews of a Kang, a Clemmons and a Manyika“.  On one hand, a generic “Review of Three Books” is not helpful – I generally like to indicate the writer and title of the book under review.  On the other hand listing all three book titles would result in a clumsy, somewhat inelegant post title.  (I’m fussy about titles; I have a whole spiel about them). Using book titles, today’s post would be “Reviews: The End of Days; Far From My Father; Maid in SA.” Doesn’t look(read ..read more

The Six Degrees of Separation meme is hosted by Book Are My Favourite Things.  The idea is to connect a book selected by the host to another book of your choice through six criteria of your choosing. It is a First Saturday of the Month event (of course I’m late!).  I would like to use this meme to discuss books I’d previously read before beginning this blog or books I’ve read that I haven’t yet got round to reviewing, which are a lot of books. This week’s selected book is Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin. I haven’t read this book or any other book by the author. I’m familiar wi ..read more

I have read a ton of books in previous years but I’ve neglected to comment about  them on this blog (not a surprise).  There are several I want to rescue from the silent abyss and will do so in grouped reviews of much shorter lengths. The Vegetarian by Han Kang I confirm all the wonderful things said about this novel and all the statements made about the talents of the writer.  The book is stunning and superb. The hype is real, y’all. Yeong-hye, a young wife, after a series of dreams, becomes a vegetarian overnight. This greatly upsets, upturns the lives of those closest to her ..read more

The Six Degrees of Separation meme is hosted by Book Are My Favourite Things.  The idea is to connect a book selected by the host to another book of your choice through six criteria of your choosing. It is a First Saturday of the Month event (of course I’m late!).  I would like to use this meme to discuss books I’d previously read before beginning this blog or books I’ve read that I haven’t yet got round to reviewing, which are a lot of books. This week’s selected book is The Poisonwood Bible by the American writer Barbara Kingsolver. I’ve read this book when it came out, in 1998, an ..read more

I set myself a modest target of reading 50 books this year and already the Goodreads challenge-0-meter tells me I’m 5 books behind schedule.  My reading slowed considerably in the first three months of the year but as I recover from illnesses, I’ve picked up the pace. Plus, the April Readathon has helped my stats. I had fun reading 631 pages over 21 hours and managed to finish 5 books. I’m enjoying books again! Here’s what I’ve read from January to April:  What It Means When A Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah Cain by José Saramago (translated by Margaret Jull Costa) Suc ..read more

It’s 7:46am in Accra; and since it’s also Saturday April 28, I’m up for Dewey’s 24-hour Readathon,  Planning: how I will do this year’s Readathon. The twice yearly reading event was started by the late blogger Dewey in 2007 and it’s been kept going by a dedicated community of book bloggers and readers.  I think my first, only participation, was in April 2010.  The basic idea is to read for 24 hours, with breaks for sleeping, eating and whatever other distractions. Participants also cheer the community on (via various social media platforms); bloggers post updates; challenges are ..read more

Some Ghanaian folks who dial the wrong number have the most infuriating manners. Here is a poet’s response. Enjoy! WRONG NUMBER NUMBER TWO No, There’s no “Mr. Coleman” here. And no, no. You mustn’t stay to chat me up. To warn you historical ancient, every ominous note intended, Please stranger, do not tarry. The path here was Only accidental. The voice whose music so draws you Perchance lies in the throat of The serpentine protrusion A 1000 leagues long and a 1000 bushels wide, That has within its span, Great mansions whose interiors of Iroko, oak, cedars and sandalwood Goblets of gold and sil ..read more

Wana Udobang (MissWanaWana) is a journalist, poet and filmmaker. She lives in Lagos. Her spoken word album, In Memory of Forgetting, is available on iTunes. Also do check out her documentaries. (Wana’s Website). Wana is extraordinary, a woman so special, a performer.  Her voice in this piece, mehn. Enjoy ..read more

June Jordan was a Caribbean-American poet and essayist, born to Jamaican immigrants in Harlem in 1936, and raised in Bed-Stuy, New York. She was a highly acclaimed poet and essayist. She was probably the most fierce, bravest, courageous among her generation of poets. Her sense of outrage is unparalleled! She published twenty-seven books of poetry. Oughta Be A Woman Washing the floors to send you to college Staying at home so you can feel safe What do you think is the soul of her knowledge What do you think makes her feel safe Biting her lips and lowering her eyes To make sure there’s food on t ..read more