Artists & Reviews |

Ashley M. Jones named poet laureate

September 20, 2021September 20, 2021 admin2Headline News, poet0 comment

Ashley M. Jones has been chosen to be the first Black poet laureate for Alabama, according to the Magic City Poetry Festival. According to information released by the festival, Jones, its founder, received the commendation during a Sunday meeting that was part of the Alabama Writers Cooperative’s yearly conference. Jones, who will be the youngest person to hold the position, follows Jennifer Horne, the 12th person to hold the title. The poet laureate serves as “the ambassador of poetry for the state,” according to Sunday’s announcement. Activities include touring…

Artists & Reviews

Inside Dr. Tipoteh’s Two New Books: Bite and Blow and Pepperbird Bound for Freedom

August 9, 2021August 9, 2021 admin2Tipoteh0 comment

By Geepu-Nah Tiepoh, Ph.D. This piece summarizes two new books written by Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh and released on the eve of his 80th birthday recently celebrated. The first book, Bite and Blow: My Story, published by Publish Wiz based in Accra, Ghana, and dedicated to his parents (father, Korwreh Duwree Togba, and mother Geenah Wreh Kai), gives a riveting account of his early years and upbringing in the Old Kru Town and later at Snapper Hill, Monrovia; his exciting journey through higher education that landed him in the…

Our evening, Living the Legacy and Continuing the Work, will feature a conversation with the Daughters of the Movement about how their lives and personal passions and commitments to justice, politics, activism, and the arts were shaped by their parents, a performance by artist, entertainer and activist Ayana Gregory, the presentation of the Malcolm X Legacy award, and more.

Artists & Reviews

Books: BEYOND THE MYTH OF MALCOLM X

July 13, 2021July 13, 2021 admin2Book review, Malcolm X0 comment

Understanding the humanity, and the communities, that shaped the brilliant, troubled, selfish, generous, sincere radical By Kerri Greenidge To anyone walking through Roxbury, Massachusetts, the sounds that waft over Dale Street are far away—the fart of buses on Washington Street to the west and on Warren Street to the east. The sidewalk that abuts the bowfront brick rowhouses and wood-frame two-families with porch railings and multiple mailboxes feels comfortably quiet. And it is possible to forget that the recently renamed Nubian Square—Roxbury’s central business district—is less than a 10-minute walk away.…

Artists & Reviews

Cherbo Geeplay’s poetry: like full-blooming tropical flowers

June 17, 2021June 17, 2021 admin20 comment

By Dag Walker Most of us are far too busy organizing the latest details of the upcoming quarterly financial report for corporate headquarters to piss away our time on things like soul auscultation. Bills to pay, take the car in for a tune-up, consult the caterer for hors d’oeuvres for the party. Listening to the sounds of the soul? What is that? The best I can do is refer you, gentle reader, to poetry; and the best I can do with poetry is to refer you to Cherbo…

Artists & Reviews

JZYNO Releases New Single “Mamie Watta” with Krymi

May 4, 2021May 4, 2021 admin2artist, Jzyano, Liberian0 comment

After much anticipation, the Ghana-based Liberian artist, JZYNO has released his new single “Maame Water” featuring Ghana’s sensational singer Krymi. Taking to social media, JZYNO revealed the cover art for his upcoming single with the caption “Fresh new tone will keep you on your feet till the end of the beat”. The cover art shows a portrait photo of both artists against a serene sea view and also reveals the producer of the song as Beatz Vampire. Back in March 2021, JZYNO put the music scene on ‘stop’ with his power-packed…

Ngũgĩ wa Thiongio will succeed Vinton Cerf, known for being one of the fathers of the Internet. Cerf was the first technologist to receive the prize, with other awarded figures including the philosopher Karl Popper, oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, politician Václav Havel, writer Doris Lessing, and activist Malala Yousafzai. The prize will be awarded to the Kenyan author during the first quarter of 2020 at a ceremony chaired by Catalan president Quim Torra.

Artists & Reviews

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o nominated as author and translator in first for International Booker

April 11, 2021April 11, 2021 admin20 comment

Kenyan novelist’s The Perfect Nine is first work written in an indigenous African language to be longlisted Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o has become the first writer to be nominated for the International Booker prize as both author and translator of the same book, and the first nominee writing in an indigenous African language. The 83-year-old Kenyan and perennial Nobel favourite is among 13 authors nominated for the award for best translated fiction, a £50,000 prize split evenly between author and translator. Thiong’o is nominated as writer and translator of The Perfect Nine,…

Artists & Reviews

Professor Wole Soyinka Writes a New Novel!

March 29, 2021March 29, 2021 admin2Africa, Books, Wole Soyinka0 comment

Wole Soyinka at 86 will publish a new novel titled ”Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth” in November this year. The news of the novel has been circulating secretively since Soyinka submitted the typescript to his publishers–BookCraft in Ibadan and Random House in New York– in June this year. Those who are close to the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Literature were expecting a new collection of poems which was in its final stage of editing, only for Soyinka to spring a big surprise with a novel of 524…

Artists & Reviews

Burna Boy’s Grammy Award is a ‘big win for Africa’ and its music stars

March 29, 2021March 29, 2021 admin2Burna Boy, Grammy0 comment

It was second time lucky for Afrobeats star Burna Boy who landed a Grammy award for his album ‘Twice As Tall’ at the ceremony. Burna, real name Damini Ogulu, missed out to veteran Beninese singer, Angelique Kidjo at the 2020 awards. As he accepted the Best Global Music Album award from his home in Lagos, Nigeria, Burna, 29, declared: “This is a big win for my generation of Africans all over the world.” “This should be a lesson to every African out there: No matter where you are, no matter what you…

Artists & Reviews

The Survivor and the Conquering Spirits of Sadjio

March 15, 2021March 16, 2021 admin2Book review, Liberian, Writer0 comment

By Fatoumata Nabie Fofana Publisher: Adelaide Books 244 Fifth Avenue Suit D27 New York, NY 10001 311 pp. Reviewed by Nvasekie N. Konneh The life we live, where we live, those we interact with on the daily basis are all stories by themselves. The more we live, the more stories there are about us or others we interact with. In this case, everyone has stories to tell, either orally or literarily. On one occasion or another, many of our stories are told orally to our friends and relatives. The oral stories take…

Artists & Reviews

Echoes of Time: Promoting Liberian Literary Heritage

January 18, 2021 admin2Liberian Literature0 comment

Echoes of Time: Promoting Liberian Literary Heritage By Eduardo de Bosco To talk of literature in Africa, one cannot but mention the west coast and a number of countries on the east, south, as well as other regions of the continent. Names such as Chinua Achebe, Camara Laye, Ayei Kwei Armah, Nadine Gordimer, Buchi Emecheta, Ngugi Wa Thiongo, Nuruddin Farah, the West African Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka and a litany of names are bound to hit the eardrums at the mention of African literature. What is not so known on…