Books & Rhymes: The Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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)

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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 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)

Books discussed and referenced in this episode:

-     Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream to The Sun – Sarah Ladipo Manyika

-     The Famished Road – Ben Okri

-     God's Bits of Wood - Sembene Ousmane

-     Lives of Great Men - Chike Frankie Edozien

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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.

Listen to Remy's playlist on Deezer, Spotify and YouTube

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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

Books referenced in this episode:

The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier

African Book of Short Story Writing – edited by Helon Habila

Little Family – by Ishmael Beah

Literary Journals Referenced:

Doek Lit Mag, Lolwe, Bakwa Magazine, Brittle Paper, Johannesburg Review of Books,

Songs referenced this episode:

Tomorrow – Salif Keita

Sound Check - The Muffinz

Stimela – Hugh Masekela

Mbube - Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Africa – Salif Keita

Africa – Yemy Alade ft. Sauti Sol

Make The Road by Walking - The Menahan Street Band

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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. 

Read the shortlisted AKO Caine Prize stories including How To Marry and African President online at CainePrize.com

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.

The song you heard in the intro and outro of this podcast is titled: Reset by Meakoom the song is available on Bandcamp: https://meakoom.bandcamp.com/track/reset-books-rhymes-podcast-theme-song

Follow @BooksAndRhymes on Instagram and Twitter

Share your thoughts on this episode using #BooksAndRhymes

Books referenced in this episode: (Available for purchase online and in bookshops)

In Live and Trouble – Alice Walker

Songs referenced this episode:

Suzanna - Sauti Sol

Control - Janet Jackson

Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood – Nina Simone

Tyrone: Live - Erykah Badu

If I Were A Boy – Beyoncé

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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.

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Listen to playlist of the songs referenced in this episode on Spotify, Deezer, and YouTube

Lives of Great Men is published by: Team Angelica (UK & USA), Ouida Books (Nigeria), Jacana Books (South Africa).

Books referenced in this episode: (Available for purchase online and in bookshops)

The Face: Cartography of the Void - Chris Abani

Walking with Shadows - Jude Dibia

She Called Me Woman - Edited by Azeenarh Mohammed, Chitra Nagarajan and Rafeeat Aliyu

Songs referenced this episode: (listen to the playlist on Spotify, Deezer, and YouTube)

Lady - Fela Kuti

Diallo - Wyclef Jean

Ekwe - Onyeka Owenu

Sweet Mother - Prince Nico Mbaga

Johnny - Yemi Alade

Sweetest Taboo - Sade 

Moving on Up - M People

Umqombothi - Yvonne Chaka Chaka

Love Child - The...

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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.

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The playlist of the songs referenced in this episode is available on Spotify and YouTube.

Lives of Great Men is published by: Team Angelica (UK), Ouida Books (Nigeria), Jacana Media (South Africa).

Songs referenced this episode: (listen to the playlist on Spotify, Deezer, and YouTube.):

Taxi Driver (I Don’t Care) - Bobby Benson

Taxi Driver (I Don’t Care) - Mandy Brown Ojugbana

Proud - Heather Small

Work - Masters at Work

Reviews of Lives of Great Men referenced:

Lives of Great Men by Chike Frankie Edozien by Diana Evans– An African exodus

Diriye Osman Reviews Chike Frankie Edozien’s Triumphant Memoir in HuffPost

Books referenced in this episode: (Available for purchase online and in bookshops)

Sista! An Anthology of Writing by and about Same Gender Loving...

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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

Rhodesians Never Die – David Scobie

What’s Love Got To Do With It – Tina Turner

Aboki – Ice Prince

Coffin For Head of State – Fela Kuti

Umoya Wami – Lovemore Majaivana

Keep It Moving – Empire Cast

Cries of the Motherland - Caiiro

Reviews:

Books & Rhymes’ review on Bookstagram

Helon Habila’s review in The Guardian Newspaper

Yiyun Li’s recommendation in Vanity Fair magazine

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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.

Read Brittle Paper's review here.

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

This episode was recorded in partnership with Cassava Republic Press at Library - A members only club situated in central London. 

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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.

Books and articles mentioned:

In Dependence – Sarah Ladipo Manyika

Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To The Sun - Sarah Ladipo Manyika

New Daughters of Africa - Edited by Margaret Busby

We Need New Names – NoViolet Bulawayo

Lagos Noir – Edited by Chris Abani

The books are widely available for purchase online and in your local bookshops.

Articles referenced: interview with Toni Morrison, On meeting Toni Morrison, and ‘On Meeting Mrs Obama’

Film referenced: Mother of George – directed by Andrew Dosunmu

Songs referenced this episode (listen to the extended playlist on Spotify and YouTube):

Market Place – High Masekela

Waiting in Vain – Bob Marley

Reinfiltrator – Falana

Start Again – Falana

Hear Me Lord – Oliver Tuku Mtukudzi

She’s a Bad Mama Jama – Carl Carlton

Amen/ This Little Light of Mine – Etta James

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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 Emmanuel Okafor (Nigeria) for ‘All Our Lives’; in partnership with the Caine Prize.

The stories can be read in written and audio formats here: http://caineprize.com/the-shortlist-2019

Tweet your thought on this episode using the hashtag #Booksandrhymes, follow @booksandrhymes on twitter and instagram

A playlist of the songs featured in this episode including a specially curated soundtrack to each story is available on Spotify and YouTube

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The song you heard at the intro and outro is titled Dismembered by Meakoom.

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