International Swedish Book Fair: presents the riches of African literature

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

International Swedish Book Fair: presents the riches of African
literature to the Scandinavian public:

Nigerian man of the moment Pius Adesamni should be here at the
Gothenburg Book Fair from September 23- 26 – but being so much in
demand after the Penguin Award, I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t….

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUK257&q=Swedish+Book+Fair+%3A+Africa

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUK257&q=+African+writers++at++the+Swedish+Book+Fair

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=sv&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fafrika2010.se%2F


N.B The Nobel Prize in Literature will most probably be announced on
the 7th or 8th of October, 2010.

Keep your fingers crossed for Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o - or for whoever you
want to be crowned.

The latest issue of KARAVAN, the Swedish Literary magazine (this time
a double issue no.2-3 2010) is exclusively devoted to African Writers
and African Literature with the theme of “Africa day and night”

In this latest issue Wa Thiong’o is pitted against Chinua Achebe in
the ancient debate about language:

On pages 74 -79 there’s an essay by Chinua Achebe on “The African
Writer and the English Language” (an excerpt from his book of essays
“Morning Yet on Creation Day” (1996) first as a speech Mr. Achebe made
in 1964) in which he quotes from Christopher Okigbo’s “Limits”:

“Suddenly becoming talkative like weaverbird
Summoned at offside of dream remembered
Between sleep and waking
I hand up my egg-shells
To you of palm grove
Upon whose bamboo towers hang
Dripping with yesterupwine
A tiger mask and nude spear.

Queen of the damp half light
I have had my cleansing
Emigrant with air borne nose
The he-goat-on-heat “

Pages 80 – 91 Ngũgĩ WA Thiong'o has an essay on “Language in African
Literature” in which he tells us why he deserted English and started
writing in his mother tongue.
It’s a shortened version of his “The Language of African Literature”,
which was first published in “Decolonizing the Mind: The Politics of
Language in African Literature” (James Curry, 1986)

On Pages 64 –66: Nine poems by Chris Abani are also featured under the
title, “The world is old, the world is new” (poems from his “Kalakuta
Republic” (2000) “Dog Woman” (2004) “Handswashing Water” (2006) and
from the anthology “Voices in Wartime” (2005) all translated into
Swedish and interpreted by Roy Isaksson
Page67-69 : Poems that come out like songs “ Chris Abani’s poems about
life on Death Row “, from Kwame Dawes introduction to Chris Abani’s
poems in “Kalakuta Republic”

This latest issue will soon be available on the net.

Here’s the spring issue:

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=sv&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fkaravan.se%2F

Nota Bene: In Swedish and in German, Africa is spelled with a K…
AfriKa…..