Book News

Poems from Nancy Aidé González, USA

Nancy Aidé González is a Chicana poet, educator, andactivist. She graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature. She attended Las Dos Brujas Writer’s Workshop in 2012. Her work has appeared in Huizache The magazine of Latino literature, Mujeres De Maiz Zine, DoveTales, Tule Review, Seeds of Resistance Flor y Canto: Tortilla Warrior, La Bloga,…

Moses Magadza Interviews Beaven Tapureta

Last time we featured Moses Magadza interviewing renowned Zimbabwean writer Chenjerai Hove. Now Magadza returns with an interview of another Zimbabwean writer, Beaven Tapureta, who says that too many people all over the world continue to turn their noses at writers, perpetuating the mistaken belief that they are essentially unemployed people. He says far from being part of…

Tinashe Muchuri Reports on the Launch of Mabasa’s New Novel

Tinashe Muchuri, who covered the Harare launch of NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names, comes back with a report on the launch of Ignatius Mabasa’s novel Imbwa Yemunhu. Writing in Shona, Muchuri reports that the launch, held in Harare on December 20th,  was organized in conjunction with Kwayedza newspaper’s prize-giving day. The recipients of the prizes were budding poets from schools across Zimbabwe.  Addressing…

Review of “Moving Spirit: The Legacy of Dambudzo Marechera in the 21st Century”

There is Dambudzo Marechera the writer who died in 1987 and Dambudzo Marechera the collection of all the works by and about him. Books featuring critical perspectives on his works and those depicting his profound influence on contemporary writers have been published. Moving Spirit: The Legacy of Dambudzo Marechera in the 21st Century is an example of such books, but it…

Debut Short Story from Primrose C. Dzenga

Those who have read her work will remember her debut poetry collection, Destiny in Her Hands, and the award-winning book Auxillia Chimusoro: The Unsung Heroine. She has also been active in the Harare poetry scene, performing on stages that have featured poets like Musaemura Zimunya, Batsirai Chigama, Memory Chirere and others. She is a dynamic literary voice from Zimbabwe. Primrose C.…

In Conversation: NoViolet Bulawayo and Chinelo Okparanta

We present a conversation between NoViolet Bulawayo and Chinelo Okparanta, two of the most talented writers of our time. The focus of the interview is on Okparanta’s debut short story collection, Happiness, Like Water, but the writers cover other topics as well: food, the creative process, literary awards, multiple identities, and future writing projects. Bulawayo’s questions are thoughtful and engaging, and…

Bwesigye on Afropolitanism and Habila’s Review of Bulawayo’s Novel

By Brian Bwesigye It is now a trend, that any story out of Africa that deals with deprivation, misrule and suffering is met with loud outcries of poverty-porn from a group of Africans Taiye Selasi defined as Afropolitans. Writing in Lip Magazine in 2005, Taiye described Afropolitans as “the newest generation of African emigrants … (known by a)…

Robin Becker’s Eighth Poetry Collection Vivid and Illuminating

Pittsburgh, PA: Robin Becker’s forthcoming collection of poetry, Tiger Heron, is brimming with keen observations and vivid descriptions. She “looks straight at the failures of our human species, yet never loses her compassion or reduces the complexities and paradoxes to easy conclusions,” said award-winning poet Ellen Bass. “Deftly, precisely, these poems express their wisdom in…