When Basquiat went to Africa
In 1988, Basquiat traveled to Cote d'Ivoire, anticipating "very unsophisticated" Africans would see his art. That's not what happened.
Lit
On African Fiction(s)
Who decides where African fiction begins and ends and which (African) writers fall within its ambit?
Nigeria’s drama filled history
The historian Max Siollun wants to present Nigerian history as something more than a mechanical rendering of dates and facts.
Winter Reading List
A sample of Africa Is a Country editors and contributors list the books keeping them warm this winter.
Three Books on Nelson Mandela
The American public radio network, NPR, asked me, in anticipation of Nelson Mandela's birthday, to recommend 3 books its listeners could read on his life and legacy.
Summer Reading List
What are some Africa Is a Country editors and contributors reading during their northern hemisphere summer break?
Whose “new African writing”?
Finding more multilingual literary pathways will benefit all of African—and world—literatures.
On New African Writing
What precisely is new about new African writing and what makes it different from what we have seen before?
Aristide Zolberg and African Studies
A political scientist, Zolberg wrote two ground breaking books on West Africa politics in the 1960s and was key to formation of African Studies.
An African inspired fantasy world
Two Nigerian-American brothers hope to bring a unique African cultural perspective to cartoons, comics and animation, where Africans are usually absent.
Hair politics and other Weekend Specials
With this, I am bringing back Weekend Special for all those things we don't have the time to blog about or say more than the required 140 characters on Twitter.
Does Zimbabwe’s new Constitution live up to women’s aspirations?
This weekend, Zimbabwe held a Constitutional referendum. And so Zimbabwe enjoyed yet another 15 seconds of
The Book of Marikana
Rewriting history from below in South Africa by utilizing the voices of workers and their survivors themselves.
There’s “too much Africa in South Africa”
That what a Dutch writer Adriaan Van Dis told an Italian newspaper when asked about what South Africa is like now.
Africa’s supposed red earth
The Stadsschouwburg of Amsterdam, an iconic theater in the city, organizes a festival on the continent that consists mostly of the work of white artists.
To sanitize and trivialize a decade of mayhem
Another book argues Zimbabwe's land reform is a success. But does it adequately deal with the processes by which that “success” was achieved?
Nigerians don’t talk like that
Will Ferguson wrote a novel about Nigeria's 419 scams. He also won an award for it. Do we think it's a good read?
What’s Best for American Policy in Africa
Would former US Assistant Secretary for Africa, Susan Rice, have been a good choice for Barack Obama's Secretary of State?
Race politics in Ghana
Historian Jemima Pierre argues that Whiteness serves as a reference point for Ghanaians’ notions of beauty, Blackness, and power, but Ghanaians remain blind to this.
S is for Samora Machel
We asked about a dozen Africa Is a Country contributors what their favorite books of 2012 were. Here are their picks.