Turn on, tune in, and don’t cop out of this podcast that takes you on a musical journey through the works of new and classic authors. Host, Sarah Ozo-Irabor chats with notable writers and literary tastemakers on their work and the music that has shaped their craft, literary journey, and overall sense of self. An accompanying playlist of curated songs is available in each episode description.
Découvrez des podcasts liées à Books & Rhymes: The Podcast. Explorez des podcasts avec des thèmes, sujets, et formats similaires. Ces similarités sont calculées grâce à des données tangibles, pas d'extrapolations !
"Mwenkanonkano" | Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (Part 2)
Saison 3 · Épisode 2
lundi 18 janvier 2021 • Durée 01:20:41
We conclude our conversation with renowned Ugandan author, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi in which she reflects on migrant narratives in her collection of short stories, Manchester Happened (published in the USA as Let’s Tell This Story Properly), we explore the ways in which Sweet Mother by Nico Mbaga contribute to conversations on the treatment of indigenous Ugandan feminism in relation to western feminism in the novel, The First Woman (published in the USA as A Girl Is A Body of Water), and we also draw explicit parallels between Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Makumbi’s Kintu.
Listen to Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s curated playlist on Spotify, and Deezer.
Follow @booksandrhymes on Twitter and Instagram to stay informed on the latest news on classic and contemporary books by writers of African descent. We would love it if you share your thoughts & tag us in your social media posts of this episode.
The song you heard in the intro and outro of this podcast is titled: Reset by Meakoom (Meakoom) link to her music is available on Bandcamp
Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi's Bibliography:
- Kintu
- Manchester Happened (Published as Let's Tell This Story Properly in the USA)
- The First Woman - (Published as A Girl Is a Body of Water in the USA)
"Culture Interlocutor" | Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (Part 1)
Saison 3 · Épisode 1
lundi 11 janvier 2021 • Durée 01:56:58
What power do editors have in steering a writer’s career? What are the real value of winning literary prizes such as the Kwani! manuscript project? What challenges do African writers encounter when attempting to publish literary fiction that exclude the white gaze?
Our guest Jennifer Nansubuga Mamukbi, award winning author whose novels include Kintu (pronounced ChinTu), The First Woman (published as A Girl Is A Body of Water in the USA), and the short Story collection, Manchester Happened (published as Let’s Tell This Story Properly in the USA) situate Ugandan mythology in the fictional narrative of historical and contemporary Ugandan experiences.
We use the music of Miriam Makeba, Queen, Eddy Kenzo, Tracy Chapman, Krizbeatz x Teni and more to explore Makumbi’s experience of being published, the real value of winning the Kwani! manuscript project & how it defined her writing career, why writers must to invest in good editors, and we also discuss her response to that introductory essay to the USA edition of Kintu.
Listen to Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s curated playlist on Spotify, and Deezer.
Follow @booksandrhymes on Twitter and Instagram to stay informed on the latest news on classic and contemporary books by writers of African descent. We would love it if you share your thoughts & tag us in your social media posts of this episode.
The song you heard in the intro and outro of this podcast is titled: Reset by Meakoom (Meakoom) link to her music is available on
"Move In Power"| Rémy Ngamije
Saison 2 · Épisode 2
lundi 20 juillet 2020 • Durée 01:21:33
Remy Ngamije's Short story, The Neighbourhood Watch, a narrative of five disenfranchised people on their quest for survival on the margins of society has been shortlisted for the 2022 AKO Caine Prize. We use the music of Hugh Masekela, Salif Keita, Yemi Alade, Lady Smith Black Mambazo - as selected by Rémy to unpack the intricacies of the story. We address poor representations of female characters in fiction written by men, while Rémy opens up about the triumphs and challenges of spearheading DoekLitMag.com, a literary journal expanding the reach of Namibian literature.
We continue our special one-to-one interview with the shortlisted writers for the AKO Caine Prize for African Writing with Remy Ngamije, a Rwandan born, Namibian writer, editor and photographer whose story, The Neighbourhood Watch is vying for the £10,000 prize.
Share your thoughts on this episode using #BooksAndRhymes
The song you heard in the intro and outro of this podcast is titled: Reset by Meakoom the song is available on Bandcamp
"Narrative Closure" | Erica Sugo Anyadike
Saison 2 · Épisode 1
lundi 13 juillet 2020 • Durée 01:09:44
AKO Caine Prize for African Writing shortlisted writer, Erica Sugo Anyadike, the Tanzanian multi-hyphenated creative powerhouse discuss her subversive story, How To Marry an African President.
We use selected music curated by Erica to unpack among other things, depictions of female partners of powerful men, Black women with care, and writing against the singular African narrative. We discuss the process of writing the How To Marry An African President, and what it means to truly demystify the process of writing.
Listen to playlist of songs exclusively curated by Erica Sugo Anyadike for Books & Rhymes here
The winner of the 2020 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing will be announced on Monday 27th of July, the announcement will be accompanied by the screening of a specially commissioned film by renowned filmmaker Joseph Adesunloye.
In the concluding conversation on his memoir, Lives of Great Men, Chike Frankie Edozien offers greater depth into his career as a journalist in the United States of America (USA). We use a specially curated soundtrack as a musical backdrop to discuss Edozien's experience as one of few African Journalists who covered the highly publicised case against the New York police department for the racial profiling and murder of Guinean student, Amadou Diallo. Edozien elaborates on the importance of professional bodies such as the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in propelling the careers of aspiring journalists. We also discuss dealing with homophobia among family members.
Journalist and Lambda award winning author, Chike Frankie Edozien, offers an intimate portrait of his life in his memoir, Lives of Great Men: Living and Loving as an African Gay Man. We begin the discussion with Edozien’s reaction to the attention the memoir has garnered (including winning the 2018 Lambda literary award), after which we reflect on the importance of being reviewed critically by astute readers, coming of age as same gender loving young man in Nigeria, the criminalisation of homosexuality in West Africa, and the circumstances that compelled Edozien to pursue a career in journalism.
Songs referenced this episode: (listen to the playlist on .):
"In Search of History" | Novuyo Rosa Tshuma
Saison 1 · Épisode 6
mardi 10 septembre 2019 • Durée 01:24:07
Novuyo Rosa Tshuma provides deeper context to her critically acclaimed novel, House of Stone – a sophisticated, philosophical and darkly humorous (re)telling of Zimbabwe’s history. We explore writing for a specific audience, censorship in Zimbabwean publishing landscape, weaponisation of history, the importance of documenting Gukurahundi massacre in fiction, understanding the ‘Born Free’ generation and so much more.
Books mentioned in this episode (widely available for purchase online and your local bookshops).
House of Hunger – Dambuzo Marechera
These Bones Will Rise Again – Panashe Chigumadzi
Stone Virgins – Yvonne Vera
My Sister The Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite
Nervous Conditions – Tsitsi Dagaremba
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers – Yiyun Li
A Strangers Pose – Emmanuel Iduma
Songs referenced this episode (listen to the playlist on Spotify, Deezer, and YouTube):
Zimbabwe – Bob Marley
Danger Zone – Thomas Mapfumo
"Postcolonial Trauma" | Jumoke Verissimo
Saison 1 · Épisode 7
lundi 9 septembre 2019 • Durée 01:05:26
Celebrated writer and poet, Jumoke Verrisimo, discuss the complexities of fictionalising personal pain in fiction, idealisation of mothers in Yoruba culture, the infliction of emotional traumas on loved ones as coping strategy for much deeper unarticulated psychological distress, and her debut novel, A Small Silence - a quietly disturbing coded novel that humanises historically underserved communities in fiction while inviting the reader to explore the psycho-social implication of loneliness and isolation.
Songs referenced in the discussion: (listen to the playlist on Spotify, Deezer, and YouTube):
A Beautiful Imperfection – Asa
The Way I Feel – Asa
I am A Rock – Simon and Garfunkel
Gravity – John Meyer
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood – Nina Simone
Ain’t No Sunshine – Bill Withers
Army Arrangement – Fela Kuti
Disturbia – Rihanna
"When Writing Begin to Sing" | Sarah Ladipo Manyika
Saison 1 · Épisode 5
mercredi 14 août 2019 • Durée 01:02:05
In celebration of its 10th anniversary launch, Sarah Ladipo Manyika takes us through the musical landscape of her novel, In Dependence, a sweeping love story spanning four decades, steeped in pan-African post colonial politics. We use the playlist curated by Sarah Ladipo Manyika to unpack the reasoning, research and writing process behind the novel, In Dependence. We explore the import of musicians such as Hugh Masekela, Nina Simone, Bob Marley, and many more in bringing literary narratives to life. Sarah Ladipo Manyika also expands on the import of Toni Morrison’s advice to writers in her acceptance speech for the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature.
This episode was recorded live at Foyles flagship bookshop in Charring Cross, London, in partnership with Cassava Republic Press.
"Do What You Gotta Do" | LIVE with 2019 Caine Prize Shortlisted Writers
Saison 1 · Épisode 4
lundi 8 juillet 2019 • Durée 01:36:19
A special live episode recording with the shortlisted writers for the Caine Prize for African Writing, 2019: Lesley Nneka Arimah (Nigeria)
‘Skinned’, Meron Hadero (Ethiopia) ‘The Wall’, Cherrie Kandie (Kenya) for ‘Sew My Mouth’ Ngwah-Mbo Nana Nkweti (Cameroon) for ‘It Takes A Village Some Say’, and Tochukwu EmmanuelOkafor (Nigeria) for ‘All Our Lives’; in partnership with the Caine Prize.
