Shows
Wasafiri Africa PodcastThank you & Happy HolidaysRuth and Geovany take a moment to take stock of the Wasafiri Africa journey three months on. Fourteen conversations in, and eight countries “visited” the mood is buoyant and filled with gratitude for the guests who have shared their remarkable stories and for all the listeners who have tuned in.Ruth and Geovany briefly reflect on the learnings and feedback. A key aspect has been that with the podcast being at discovery stage, feedback revealed the need to take a short publication hiatus to allow listeners to “catch up” with the conversations on offer. The festive season c...
2025-12-2314 min
Wasafiri Africa PodcastMaking Music That Ignites with Zolani MaholaFormerly known as Port Elizabeth, Qberha is a port city located on the southeastern of South Africa, by the Indian Ocean. It is the pot of gold at the end of the stunning Garden Route, that winds its way along the Cape Coast. Also known as the friendly city, Qberha, boasts blue flag beaches, great weather throughout the year, and ranks high as a magnate for foreign direct investment in Sub-Sharan Africa.*Ruth is immediately enthralled by Zolani Mahola’s music origin story in Freshly Ground. Much like a scripted mov...
2025-12-161h 02
Wasafiri Africa PodcastCelebrating Culture Through Hospitality with Senait MekonnenAddis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia. Situated on the edge of the Great Rift Valley it is a city on a hill and cannot be hidden. Founded in 1887 by Emperor Menelik the second, this ancient city is sometimes referred to as The Political Capital of Africa being home to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. It is also a well-known travel hub. Addis Ababa means “new flower” in Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia.*The love for one’s country and culture can be so imbued in the...
2025-12-091h 04
Wasafiri Africa PodcastA Rebel with a Sensitive Soul with Sylvestre KabassidiThe village of Ntambo is what became Brazzaville in 1880. During WW2, Brazzaville was the de-facto capital of aFree France. In 2013, Unesco designated Brazzaville as a city of Music, adding Brazza to the Creative Cities Network. Flanked by the mighty Congo River, and The Nabemba Tower offering panoramic views, Brazzaville captivates in its earthy vibrancy of art, music and cultural vivacity. * Straight from the outset, Sylvestre takes Ruth on a linguistic and heritage journey into the history of The Congo and Africa in general. Sylvestre’s passion for delving into the Chimuntu embraces the wholesomeness of...
2025-12-0255 min
Wasafiri Africa PodcastBespoke Shoes from Cape Town to Hollywood with Diomande MamadouSituated on the Gulf of Guinea, on the southern coast of Côte d’Ivoire is the bustling hive of economic activity that is Abidjan. From the humble beginnings of a small fishing village, Abidjan grew to be a thriving city not least for being the terminus of the Abidjan-Niger Railway. Once the nation’s capital from Independence in 1960 to 1983, Abidjan, retained the status of both being the economic capital and largest city in Côte d’Ivoire. *Diomande Mamadou is unapologetically in love with shoes. His vocation in life as a cobbler is one, he we...
2025-11-2555 min
Wasafiri Africa PodcastThe Immortal World of Story with Philippa Kabali-KagwaStraddling seven hills, and situated on the northern shores of Lake Victoria, is Kampala, the capital city of Uganda.Kampala is also Uganda’s commercial capital, having blossomed from its earliest days as a major stop on the East African Railway line, aka The Lunatic Express. As one of the safest cities in East Africa today, and complimented by its equatorial weather, Kampala has flourished for affordable living and boasts breathtaking views. The Kasubi Tombs are a key attraction and were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.*S...
2025-11-181h 05
Wasafiri Africa PodcastDiminishing Vulnerability Through Adaptive Capacity with Wazana NgidiSouthwestern Township, better known as SOWETO, is located within the City of Johannesburg Metro, and owns an undeniable place in the political history of South Africa. Soweto is where the 1976 Soweto Rebellion began its juggernaut push against Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in Soweto’s High Schools, to Zulu and Xhosa children. Haunting images of Zolile Hector Peterson, remain engraved and venerated in our minds.Yet in SOWETO, an undimmable joie de vivre pulsates in the historic pain and triumph, including a celebration of music and culture, beautifully chronicled in the song Soweto Blues by Hu...
2025-11-111h 04
Wasafiri Africa PodcastLet’s Have a Good Day with Marc Lottering.Belgravia Road is in Athlone, a suburb within the Municipality of Cape Town. Athlone is in the Cape Flats which the Apartheid zoning laws designated a Coloured Area.Athlone is mostly residential; Belgravia Road is a busy main road with bustling businesses ranging from car dealerships to bakeries and everything in between. Belgravia High School, an English medium school, was where in 1985, as part of the student uprising, 5000 pupils gathered to protest the repressive Apartheid regime.*Marc Eugene Lottering has made Belgravia Road in Athlone famous for all the right...
2025-11-041h 12
Wasafiri Africa PodcastTireless Advocate for the Humanities with Premesh LaluRylands is a sub-area in Athlone, a suburb in Cape Town. Located in the Cape Flats, the infamous Group Area Act wielded by the Apartheid Government, designated Rylands an Indian enclave surrounded by a vast Coloured majority and smattering of Black Africans.But where the racist government intended to dehumanize and cast aside, a thriving community evolved with a common purpose of dismantling Apartheid. Flanked by Belgravia, Gatesville and Langa, Rylands residents were part of the heated fray that lost their lives in the despicable Trojan Horse massacre. Their sacrifice lives on in the many remarkable...
2025-10-281h 08
Wasafiri Africa PodcastKeeping a Watchful Eye on Africa with Saeed SalahudeenSituated on the southern coast of the Gulf of Guinea is Accra, the Capital of Ghana. At one point known as The Gold Coast, Accra is inextricably linked to the devastating Trans-Atlantic Slave trade that saw one million people trafficked from its shores. Yet, testament to the resilience of her people, covering almost 226 square kilometers, Accra today is a bustling city famous for Kente cloth, vibrant markets and smart stores, juxtaposed against luxury hotels, historical sites and museums. A visit to Accra is fragrant with Africanity.*Saeed Salahudeen is a G...
2025-10-2158 min
Wasafiri Africa PodcastCircle Back: Debrief & Reflections with Ruth and GeovanyIn this episode, Ruth is joined by Geovany Dias to debrief and reflect on Wasafiri Africa and to celebrate the podcast’s one month birthday. Hurray! Geovany, normally in the background publishing and monitoring the podcast, brings his vibrant enthusiasm for Wasafiri Africa and the shared joy is palpable. Running for roughly half the length of a regular episode, at only thirty-seven minutes, the pair briefly touch on when Ruth first mentioned to Geovany of her intention to launch Wasafiri Africa, back in 2023. In the banter, it becomes clear that his enthusiasm was a catalyst to get...
2025-10-1437 min
Wasafiri Africa PodcastDavid Kramer On Dazzling Cape Town, The West End and BroadwayWorcester, a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, began life as a hunting ground teeming with game and was originally home to the Khoi and San peoples. Folk driving to or from Johannesburg and Cape Town will breeze through this quaint town, now renowned for the fine wine grown in the region. Like many towns in South Africa, remnants of the country’s torrid history, such as slave bell in the market square, can befound. Yet embraced by spectacular mountains on all four points of a compass, a pit stop...
2025-10-071h 05
Wasafiri Africa PodcastRichard Reis On Software Engineering and AI GirlfriendsWith a population of over 9 million people, Luanda is the thriving oil-fed capital of Angola. Home to the Kimbundu ethnic group, the city which was once called the Paris of Africa has Portuguese as the official language.Founded in 1576, Luanda became the administrative center of the Portuguese colony in 1627 and bears the torrid distinction of being a major outlet for slave traffic to Brazil. Now home to an elite wealthy, despite a high cost of living, Luanda has a flourishing harbor and business trade on a backdrop of beautiful architecture.*...
2025-09-301h 14
Wasafiri Africa PodcastDr Joan Nyanyuki on Creating Advocacy for Children and Human Rights on the ContinentKirinyaga County, is located at the foothills of Mount Kenya. A scared focal point for the Agikuyu people the mountain was known as Kirinyaga and the name change happened when the word was lost in translation. When from a far off, the first Europeans saw the snowy peaks straddling the Equator, the mountain was introduced to them as KayEnyA, by the Akamba. They pronounced it differently from the Agikuyu, to whom it is home. Fast Forward to British Colonial Rule and standing at 3,835m high, the easily identifiable landmark, gave rise to the name of the l...
2025-09-2459 min
Wasafiri Africa PodcastVuyisa Qabaka on Going Back to the Cave – Holding the Vision and Building Scaffolding for Entrepreneurs on the ContinenteTyhume eMajwarheni is in the Nonkobe local municipality, Amathole District, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The village gets its name from the Tyhume river which flows from Hogsback Mountains on its journey to the Indian Ocean, and borders most of the grounds of Fort Hare University. Founded in 1916 and originally called The South African Native College, the University of Fort Hare has been awarded for its exceptional contribution to Black academic training and leadership development on the continent. Its most famous student being Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.*In th...
2025-09-161h 00
Wasafiri Africa PodcastWasafiri Africa: A Podcast from Ruth KamauPodcast PreviewIn this preview episode, Ruth Kamau introduces Wasafiri Africa—a podcast that travels across the continent gathering stories of resilience, creativity and transformation. Ruth reflects on her lifelong love for the continent, tracing it back to Kenya's independence era when seventeen African nations claimed their freedom in the 1960s alone.She explores how Kiswahili has become a unifying force for Pan-Africanism, acknowledges the continent's contradictions, and issues a powerful call: it's time for Africans to tell their own stories and celebrate both their past and present as they build tomorrow....
2025-09-0905 min
SWR Kultur lesenswert - LiteraturWasafiri Magazine. International Contemporary Writing – The UAE Issue (Heft Nr. 122)
Mit den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten ist das so eine Sache: Sie stehen für Geld und Glamour – aber auch für Überwachung und unverhohlene Autokratie. Es mangelt an der Wahrung der Menschenrechte und auch an wirklicher Freiheit des Wortes.
Und dennoch boomt und blüht dort die Kultur. Auch die Literatur. So spannende wie vielfältige Einblicke in die aktuelle Literatur- und Kunstszene vor Ort gibt jetzt die neue Ausgabe des britischen, in London beheimateten Literatur-Magazins Wasafiri.
Und sie macht vor allem eines klar: Die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate sind kein Monolith – sondern ein plurales Gebilde. Zunächst einmal bestehen sie aus sieben...
2025-08-0806 min
The Poetry Exchange98. White Egrets (I) by Derek Walcott - A Friend to Nick MakohaIn this episode of The Poetry Exchange, poet Nick Makoha talks with us about the poem that has been a friend to him: 'White Egrets (I)' by Derek Walcott.Nick actually joined us back in 2017 at Pushkin House, London, and we are delighted to be sharing this conversation with you now. It is very special to hear Fiona in this conversation, with all her usual warmth and brilliance.Nick Makoha's latest collection 'The New Carthaginians' is published this month from Allen Lane - you can order/buy your copy here.
2025-02-0626 minThe Poetry Exchange98. White Egrets (I) by Derek Walcott - A Friend to Nick MakohaIn this episode of The Poetry Exchange, poet Nick Makoha talks with us about the poem that has been a friend to him: 'White Egrets (I)' by Derek Walcott.Nick actually joined us back in 2017 at Pushkin House, London, and we are delighted to be sharing this conversation with you now. It is very special to hear Fiona in this conversation, with all her usual warmth and brilliance.Nick Makoha's latest collection 'The New Carthaginians' is published this month from Allen Lane - you can order/buy your copy here.
2025-02-0626 min
The Closet Writer ChroniclesBhavika Govil: A Novel DreamThe episode opens with Bhavika talking about what creativity means to her. We talk about how her interest in writing started and her early days as a journalist. Bhavika talks about why she chose to study writing formally and how that’s helped her craft and growth. We delve into her writing process with regard to POV, writing routine and structure. Later, she shares some of her favourite books and TV shows. She also shares a bit about her debut novel, Hot Water. The episode ends with an excerpt from Hot Water narrated by Bhavika.
...
2024-10-261h 29
The Literary CityReason And Hope In A Dark Time With History's Angel And Anjum HasanSend us a textGood literature can help us navigate our own emotions and motivations, and it helps us see the world through the eyes of the writer. The best literature touches our hearts and our minds. It triggers our emotions, and makes us think critically about the world around us, by challenging our assumptions and consequently, expanding our understanding of what it means to be human.Some writers write from the heart, some from the head. The truly literary among them speak from the junction of emotion and reason—and this is what makes li...
2023-09-2646 min
Tender Buttons030 Octavia Bright: Writing from LifeIn this special live episode, we speak to writer and broadcaster Octavia Bright about her memoir, This Ragged Grace. We discuss the ways in which Octavia's roles as an interviewer, carer and linguist informed her process as an active listener and developed her writing voice. We explore the distinction between the pornographic and the erotic in relation to memoir writing, and discuss the process of revealing and concealment when writing from lived experience. We chat about the importance of images and symbols in articulating trauma, with reference to Louise Bourgeois' 'Spiral Woman' as a symbol which holds contradictions within...
2023-08-2556 min
A Thriving FutureA Deep Dive into Self-Management with Kate SimpsonThis epsiode does exactly what it says on the tin. Me and Kate Simpson, the Director of the Systemcraft Institute at Wasafiri, have a full-on geek-out about the ins and outs of self-management.Having more self-managing, adaptive teams and structures is one of the key characteristics people most often mention when they talk about becoming a more regenerative organisation. However this area is often confusing and filled with complex theories and myths. In this discussion Kate lays out the very practical methods and practices that Wasifiri uses to get the optimum benefits of this more distributed, dynamic...
2023-08-011h 30
BookRisingMehfil 5 - Translating South AsiaThis Mehfil explores the exciting world of South Asian translation especially the regional and vernacular literature that has lately been garnering international attention and winning prestigious awards. In Translating South Asia, host Amrita Ghosh talks to two renowned translators from the neighboring countries of India and Bangladesh. The conversation is not only about translations from Bengali to English but also the reverse, and how it plays out in the publishing world in the subcontinent. Arunava Sinha and Shabnam Nadiya take us on their journey into how they began translating and how it became a vocation. They speak about their...
2023-05-041h 04
All Write in Sin CityThe Middle Daughter with Chika UnigweChika Unigwe was born in Enugu, Nigeria. She was educated at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the Catholic University of Leuven prior to earning PhD from Leiden University in the Netherlands. She now lives in the United States and teaches at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Georgia. Her work has been widely translated and has won multiple awards. Unigwe’s previous publications include the poetry collections Tear Drops and Born in Nigeria, novels The Phoenix, On Black Sisters’ Street, Night Dancer, and The Black Messiah, and the short story collection Better Never than Late, along with numerous other short stor...
2023-04-3033 min
New Books in LiteratureOmolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi, "Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories" (Amistad Press, 2022)Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi’s novel Jollof Rice and Other Revolutions: A Novel in Interlocking Stories (Amistad 2022), is a moving and unforgettable collection of stories that span a lifetime. Four young girls rebel against a boarding school principal and the aftermath stays with them throughout their lives in this complex weaving of relationships and customs. Stories about immigration, powerful mothers and strong-willed daughters lead into stories about raising boys, searching for home, and seeking happiness. Ogunyemi references Nigerian history and traditions prior to the changes enforced by the missionaries, and considers a dystopian future, but the friends continue to love and...
2023-04-1831 min
Better KnownKevin Jared HoseinKevin Jared Hosein discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.
Kevin Jared Hosein is a Caribbean novelist. He has also worked as a secondary school Biology teacher for over a decade. He was named overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2018, and was the Caribbean regional winner in 2015. He has published two books: The Repenters and The Beast of Kukuyo. The latter received a CODE Burt Award for Caribbean Young Adult Literature, and both had been longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. His writings, poetry, fiction and non-fiction, have been published...
2023-02-1227 min
Arts CallingEp. 81 Camille U. Adams | The memoir, Caribbean lit, and uncovering the pastHi there,
Today I am honored to be arts calling memoirist Camille U. Adams!
About our guest:
Camille U. Adams is a memoirist from Trinidad and Tobago. She earned her MFA from CUNY and is a current Ph.D. Candidate who holds a McKnight Doctoral Fellowship at her program. Camille is an alum of Tin House Summer Workshop and Kenyon Writer’s Workshop. Camille has received a fellowship from Roots Wounds Word and scholarships from Community of Writers, Kweli Literary Festival, Grubstreet, and VONA. Her writing has been long-listed in the Graywolf Creative Nonfiction Prize 2022, se...
2023-01-1947 min
Nothing Without UsIn focus: Creative collaboration with Darren Chetty"We're so sort of conditioned to think of writing as this solitary thing where one person tells you how it is - that collaboration is seen as, as less interesting."In this distilled episode Angie talks to Darren Chetty about his varied family background in Wales, the Netherlands and South Africa, and his focus on collaboration through his disparate work in anti racism in primary schools, academic writing, philosophy of education, Hip Hop Ed and DEI consultancy. Darren Chetty taught in London primary schools for twenty years before becoming a Teaching Fellow at UCL Institute o...
2023-01-1916 min
Nothing Without UsIn conversation with Darren Chetty“I remember talking to my PhD supervisor at the time, and saying I'm really getting fed up with being the angriest person in the room. And his response was, you need to find yourself some new rooms.”In this episode Angie talks to Darren Chetty about his origin story, including his varied family background in the Netherlands and South Africa, and his focus on collaboration through his disparate work in anti racism in primary schools, academic writing, philosophy of education, Hip Hop Ed and DEI consultancy. Darren Chetty taught in London primary schools for twenty years...
2022-11-1749 min
2022-10-1211 min
BookRisingRadical Publishing Futures 8: Bakwa MagazineThe 8th episode of the Radical Publishing Futures series features Dzekashu MacViban, writer, editor and founder of Bakwa Magazine. Guest host Bhakti Shringarpure speaks with him about how it all began and the ways in which they adapt to the changing publishing landscape. Bakwa magazine was founded in 2011 in Yaoundé, Cameroon with the goal of infusing energy into the literary and cultural life of the country. Bakwa publishes in English and remains a staunchly print publication while creatively navigating the challenges posed by large, corporate digital platforms. Bakwa innovates constantly with projects such as the Bakwa Magazine Reading Series, Ba...
2022-09-1433 min
Conversations in Atlantic TheoryAndil Gosine on Nature's Wild: Love, Sex and Law in the CaribbeanThis discussion is with Dr. Gosine, a Professor of Environmental Arts and Justice at York University in Toronto. His publications include co-authorship of the text Environmental Justice and Racism in Canada and contributions to many journals including Small Axe, Wasafiri, Sexualities, Topia, Caribbean Review of Gender Studies, Art in America, as well as scholarly anthologies. His artwork has been exhibited internationally at various galleries and museums and he most recently curated the critically acclaimed exhibition "everything slackens in a wreck" at the Ford Foundation Gallery in New York. His newest book, Nature's Wild: Love, Sex and Law in the...
2022-09-011h 09
CraftSaidiya Hartman – Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments A revolution took place in the United States after Emancipation. A great migration north of the formerly enslaved brought with it convulsive changes in the organisation of cities, the shape of communities, and the practices of everyday life. In Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women and Queer Radicals (2019), Saidiya Hartman charts the nature of those changes, tracking African American women and queer radicals who were pathologised in their time period and reframing them as revolutionaries, the avant-garde of new ways of living in the early twentieth century. In this final episode o...
2022-08-3130 min
The Literary Life with Mitchell KaplanMonique Roffey: How to Write About Colonialism Without Talking About ColonialismOn today’s episode of The Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan is joined by Monique Roffey to discuss her novel, The Mermaid of Black Conch, out now from Knopf.Monique Roffey is a senior lecturer in creative writing at the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is the author of seven books, four of which are set in Trinidad and the Caribbean region. The Mermaid of Black Conch won the 2020 Costa Book of the Year Award and was short-listed for several other major prizes. Roffey’s work has appeared in The New York Review of Books, Wasafiri, and...
2022-08-0529 minCraftMeena Kandasamy – Women Dreaming, by SalmaLiterary translations are everywhere, but how and why they’re undertaken is often hidden. In this special episode, that coincides with the beginning of Women in Translation Month, poet and novelist Meena Kandasamy explains her routes into and through her translation of Tamil writer Salma’s novel Women Dreaming. The book details the experiences of an extended family of Muslim women who live and long in a small village, and who are forced to confront cultural and practical obstacles to the attainment of their dreams. In this episode, Meena discusses Salma’s reputation and importance in India, the way the trans...
2022-08-0321 minCraftSuhaiymah Manzoor-Khan – Postcolonial BanterSuhaiymah Manzoor-Khan burst onto the international poetry scene when a recording of her performance of her Islamophobia-excoriating 'This Is Not a Humanising Poem' at the 2017 Roundhouse Poetry Slam went viral, gathering over two million views online. Since then, she has become an outspoken critic of the marginalisation of Muslims in Britain, an educator, and a writer of renown, with work published in The Guardian, The Independent and several anti-racist anthologies, and performances around the world. She is the co-author of A Fly Girl’s Guide to University: Being Women of Colour at Cambridge and Other Institutions of Power and El...
2022-06-2930 minCraftBernardine Evaristo – LaraHow do you tell the story of those who haven't had their stories told? Bernardine Evaristo is a Booker-Prize-winning novelist and decades-long champion of up-and-coming writers. On this episode, she describes her own early career: her years of drafting, redrafting, publishing, then redrafting again, her first verse novel Lara (1997 & 2009). Written in the narrative poetry form that has become Bernardine's signature, Lara spans generations and continents to present the origins of a mixed family much like Bernardine's own. Her first foray into novel writing, it charted a course and explored themes that would define her career.'I...
2022-05-2525 min
Soma Nami PodcastEp 6: Troy Onyango on Lolwe and working on his writing craft. Part 2/2On this episode, we continue the conversation between the Soma Nami Duo and Troy Onyango on reading, writing, Lolwe the literary magazine and much more.
Troy is a writer and editor from Kisumu, Kenya. Troy’s work has been published Prairie Schooner, Doek!, Wasafiri, Isele Magazine, Johannesburg Review of Books, AFREADA, Nairobi Noir, Dgeku Magazine, and Transition among others. He is also an avid reader and the Founder and Editor in Chief of Lolwe. Troy’s Short Story collection titled ‘For What Are Butterflies without Their Wings’ will be published later this year by Masobe Books. Keep your eyes peeled f...
2022-05-1129 minSoma Nami PodcastEp 5: Troy Onyango on reading and the books that inspire him. Part 1/2On this episode, we listen to a conversation between the Soma Nami Duo and Troy Onyango on reading, writing, Lolwe the literary magazine and much more.
Troy is a writer and editor from Kisumu, Kenya. Troy’s work has been published Prairie Schooner, Doek!, Wasafiri, Isele Magazine, Johannesburg Review of Books, AFREADA, Nairobi Noir, Dgeku Magazine, and Transition among others. He is also an avid reader and the Founder and Editor in Chief of Lolwe. Troy’s Short Story collection titled ‘For What Are Butterflies without Their Wings’ will be published later this year by Masobe Books. Keep your e...
2022-05-0334 minCraftRob Nixon – Slow ViolenceRob Nixon is the Currie C. and Thomas A. Barron Family Professor of the Humanities and the Environment at Princeton University. His fourth book, Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor (2011), uniquely made waves across the academic fields of the humanities and in the world of climate change activism. In this episode, Rob details the book's origins in his campaigning for the release of Ken Saro-Wiwa, in his anti-apartheid activism, and in his writing about the nuclear aftermath of the US-Iraq War. 'This is a book that didn't intend to become a book.'
2022-03-3125 minCraftJohny Pitts – AfropeanJohny Pitts is a multiple-award-winning writer, photographer, and broadcast journalist, originally from Sheffield, England. His first book, Afropean (2020), combines travel writing, photography, history, and slices of memoir into a nonfiction work that seeks to sketch the many lives lived by Black people in contemporary Europe. In this fascinating interview, he tells the story of how he moved from wandering the streets and record stores of his hometown, lost, to becoming the head of continent-wide network of Black writers committed to capturing their experiences in Europe – in all their beauty and challenge. 'Who are the members of...
2022-03-0832 minCraftDaniel Mella – Older Brother (El Hermano Mayor)Daniel Mella is one of the leading writers in contemporary Latin American literature. Born and based in Montevideo, Uruguay, he is a two-time winner of the Bartolomé Hildago Prize. His autofiction novel El Hermano mayor (2017) is his first translated into English, by Megan McDowell, as Older Brother (Charco Press, 2018). In this episode, he discusses the difficult process of converting the real-life tragedy that inspired the novel into a fictionalised account, the dangers of viewing the world through aesthetic eyes, and the revelatory power of dreaming. ‘It wouldn't have been a true book if it was only sad...
2022-01-2727 min
Shorts.How To Marry An African PresidentThis week we're reading "How To Marry An African President" by Erica Sugo Anyadike. This story follows the relationship between a secretary and the President of an unnamed African country from the beginning of their courtship. Through a second person narrative, we see their relationship develop and their power corrupt. The story was shortlisted for the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, the Queen Mary Wasafiri Writing prize and the AKO Caine Prize for African writing.Link to story: How To Marry An African President by Erica Sugo AnyadikeTwitter: @shortsthepodInstagram: @shortsthepodcast...
2022-01-2448 min
BULAQ | بولاقA Thousand And One DreamsAn abbreviated version of The Nights will be coming out in Fall 2021, in Seale's translation for W. W. Norton. The fuller Nights is currently set for 2023. You can follow the Nights Bot, with which Seale shares fragments of her translation, on Twitter. You can watch a recording of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2020 The Bookseller Webinar -The global influence of the Arabian Nights, with Richard van Leeuwen, Marina Warner, and Yasmine Seale, on YouTube. You can read Seale's talk with Veronica Esposito, “Wild Irreverence”: A Conversation about Arabic Translation with Yasmine Seale, ...
2021-12-2354 minCraftChen Chen – Nature PoemChen Chen is an award-winning poet based in the United States. In this episode, he talks about the composition, editing, re-editing (and re-editing), process of his poem 'Nature Poem' published in his debut National Book award longlisted collection When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities (BOA Editions, 2017 and Bloodaxe Books, 2019). On apocalyptic pineapples, giving yourself permission, and what writers can learn from Marie Kondo. 'Sometimes you have to make mistakes, you have to allow yourself to go on tangents, on little side adventures ... and then return home.'...
2021-12-1526 minCraftNina Mingya Powles – Tiny MoonsNina Mingya Powles is a writer and zinemaker from Aotearoa New Zealand. In this wide-ranging reflection on writing her memoir and travel diary Tiny Moons, she discusses trying (and failing) to become more Chinese in Shanghai, the language of the body, and the politics of the untranslated. 'I want to intentionally decentre English as the main language and decentre Western ideas about Asia and Asian languages ...' In 2018, Nina was one of three winners of the Women Poets' Prize, and in 2019 she won the inaugural Nan Shepherd Prize for Nature Writing an...
2021-11-0328 min
CraftCraft - Official TrailerCalling all lovers of reading and literature! Join Wasafiri's Malachi McIntosh and your favourite international writers including Daniel Mella, Chen Chen, Bernadine Evaristo, and Raymond Antrobus to take you on a journey behind the scenes and unpack the often-hidden side of how their work was created. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.
2021-10-1501 min
The Authorpreneur Secret$™ PodcastEp. 19: How to Win Book Awards & Get a Traditional Publishing Deal with Dr. Sharma TaylorHow does one win book/writing awards and get a traditional publishing deal?
Dr. Sharma Taylor is a multiple award-winning Jamaican writer and a corporate attorney. She breaks down the process and tells us how she was able to bag a 2-book traditional deal.
Sharma has been the recipient of the 2020 Wasafiri Queen Mary New Writing Prize, the 2020 Frank Collymore Literary Endowment Award and the 2019 Bocas Lit Fest’s Johnson and Amoy Achong Caribbean Writers Prize.
Her debut novel What A Mother’s Love Don’t Teach You is scheduled to be published by Vir...
2021-09-0641 min
TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the HumanitiesArt and Action: Benjamin Zephaniah in ConversationPart of the Humanities Cultural Programme, one of the founding stones for the future Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. In his autobiography, The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah (2018), award-winning poet, lyricist, musician, and activist Benjamin Zephaniah speaks out candidly about the writer’s responsibility to step outside the medium of literature and engage in political activism: “You can’t just be a poet or writer and say your activism is simply writing about these things; you have to do something as well, especially if your public profile can be put to good use.” In conversation with Elleke Boehmer...
2021-08-311h 08TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the HumanitiesArt and Action: Benjamin Zephaniah in ConversationPart of the Humanities Cultural Programme, one of the founding stones for the future Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. In his autobiography, The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah (2018), award-winning poet, lyricist, musician, and activist Benjamin Zephaniah speaks out candidly about the writer’s responsibility to step outside the medium of literature and engage in political activism: “You can’t just be a poet or writer and say your activism is simply writing about these things; you have to do something as well, especially if your public profile can be put to good use.” In conversation with Elleke Boehmer...
2021-08-311h 08
LoL (Love of Literature)LoL(Love of Literature)- Ep 13 (Cruising through rejections)Guest Bio- Abdullah Khan
bdullah Khan is an Indian novelist, screenwriter, literary critic and banker. Born in a village near Motihari, Bihar, Abdullah was initially educated in madarsa (Islamic seminary) and Urdu medium school. In the mid-1990s, he discovered that George Orwell was born in Motihari. And, this Orwell’s connection with his home district drew him towards literature. Abdullah’s writings have appeared in Brooklyn Rail (New York), Wasafiri (London), The Hindu (India), The Daily Star (Bangladesh) and Friday Times (Pakistan) among others. His debut film as a screenwriter, Viraam, was released in the theatres in 2017. His f...
2021-08-0144 min
The WISER PodcastInternational Contemporary Writing on WaterOur latest episode focuses on oral poetry from the Kenyan coast and its relation to indigenous marine conservation knowledges; black travel writing from the Indian Ocean world in the early twentieth century; learning to surf and read waves in Cape Town; and the recent rise in postcolonial fiction about mermaids.
Each of these topics, and many more, form part of a special issue of the magazine Wasafiri on "Water", edited by Charne Lavery and Stephnaie Jones and available here: https://www.wasafiri.org/product/wasafiri-issue-106/. The issue covers multiple forms of writing on water from around the world...
2021-06-2525 min
The Commissioned Writers PodcastMALACHI MCINTOSH- _Imperial Homes-Calke AbbeyCommissioned poems and short stories about National Trust houses’ connections to the British Empire. The creative pieces you will hear were produced with the guidance of 14 Colonial Countryside historians.The Colonial Countryside project commissioned 10 authors, whose pieces will be published by Peepal Tree Press in Spring 2022. This illustrated book will also contain short historical commentaries and a photo essay by the project’s commissioned photographer, Ingrid Pollard.Malachi McIntosh is editor and publishing director of Wasafiri. He previously co-led the Runnymede Trust's award-winning Our Migration Story project and spent four years as a lecturer in post...
2021-06-1707 min
Super Connected ConversationsWith Vicky UnwinLearn more about Super Connected
Vicky Unwin has had a long career in both book and newspaper publishing, centred round her African roots, and is currently the chair of Wasafiri Magazine and a Caine Prize Council member. She has always been fascinated by family secrets and began researching the story behind The Boy from Boskovice shortly before her father’s death in 2012. She is a Trustee ofTransform Drug Policy Foundation campaigning for the decriminalisation of drugs after losing her daughter to a ketamine overdose in 2011. Connect with Vicky here.
2021-06-1235 min
Ochenta StoriesAlif CairoA woman travels through sound and memory to Cairo, Egypt.CREDITS: Thank you for listening to Ochenta Stories, this story was written by Rushda Rafeek. Rushda is currently based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals and has been shortlisted for the Wasafiri New Writing Prize UK in 2017, nominated for the Pushcart Prize twice and has won the Nazim Hikmet Prizerr in 2018. The Arabic version of the story was voiced by Zeina Abouelmakarem, while the sound design of the piece was done by Chiara Santella.If you like what you heard...
2021-05-1316 min
The Connected Sociologies PodcastIndian Indenture in the British Empire - Dr Maria del Pilar KaladeenBetween 1834 and 1920, two million men women and children were taken from India, by the British, to labour on sugar colonies across the Empire under temporary contracts called indentures. The majority of these workers never returned to India and the system of indenture, under which they were bound, has all but been erased from British colonial history. In this lecture, I reflect on how and why this silencing took place. I additionally refer to acts and forms of resistance utilised by indentured labourers and share ideas about the important contemporary contributions of the global Jahaji Bhai – the international indentured labour di...
2021-04-1912 min
Bande à part131: Anna May WongWe talk about two films featuring the mesmerising Anna May Wong: Piccadilly (1929) and Daughter of Shanghai (1937). See links below.
Ewald André Dupont (director), Piccadilly (1929): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020269/
Robert Florey (director), Daughter of Shanghai (1937): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028770/
Costume worn by Anna Mae Wong in Daughter of Shanghai: https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5634636
Brian Taves, Daughter of Shanghai, Library of Congress (undated): https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/daughter_shanghai.pdf
Jean-François Staszak, ‘Performing race and gender: the exoticization of Josephine Baker and Anna May Wong, Gender, Place & Culture, Volume 22, No. 5 (2015): http...
2021-03-2128 min
MFA WritersKoyé Oyedeji — Warren Wilson CollegeA low-residency MFA program helped Koyé Oyedeji of Warren Wilson College develop the discipline to work full-time while writing his composite novel. He and Jared discuss the ins and outs of the low-res experience, as well as how being a British person of Nigerian descent living in the US inspires Koyé to write about Black relationships through the lens of identity and class.
Koyé Oyedeji’s writing has appeared in Ploughshares, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Believer, Wasafiri (UK), The Good Journal (UK) and elsewhere. He has contributed to a number of anthologies, received scholarships to attend the Bread...
2021-03-0257 min
On the Road with Penguin ClassicsThe Lonely Londoners with Susheila NastaSam Selvon in Bayswater. The author and editor Susheila Nasta, Selvon’s literary executor, coasts a lime around the Water with Henry. They discuss The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon, visiting Bayswater, Hyde Park and Piccadilly Circus, and discussing the experience of Caribbean migrants in 1950s London. They meet Howard Jeffery, Chairman of the Pepperpot Centre, a community centre for older Caribbean residents in west London. Penguin Modern Classics edition of The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvonhttps://www.penguin.co.uk/books/57514/the-lonely-londoners/9780141188416.htmlEbook: https://books.apple.com/gb/boo...
2021-02-251h 09
Mashable Pakistan LabEpisode 13: Mashable Pakistan Lab – Saba Karim KhanSaba Karim Khan is an author, award winning filmmaker and educator, whose writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, Wasafiri, Huff Post, EN Fuego, Verso, DAWN, Express Tribune, Think Progress.
She has read Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford and works at NYU Abu Dhabi. Her doc-film, Concrete Dreams: Some Roads Lead Home is now on Amazon Prime Video. Before joining the Academy, she worked as Country Marketing and Public Affairs Head at Citigroup. Born in Karachi, she now lives in Abu Dhabi with her husband and two daughters.
Skyfall is her debut...
2021-01-231h 15BULAQ | بولاقA Thousand And One DreamsPoet, artist and translator Yasmine Seale is at work on a fresh translation of the Thousand and One Nights.Show Notes: An abbreviated version of The Nights will be coming out in Fall 2021, in Seale's translation for W. W. Norton. The fuller Nights is currently set for 2023. You can follow the Nights Bot, with which Seale shares fragments of her translation, on Twitter. You can watch a recording of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2020 The Bookseller Webinar -The global influence of the Arabian Nights, with Richard van Leeuwen, Marina Warner, and Yasmine Seale, on...
2020-12-1753 min
JAGEROBecoming Published - As a KenyanI have published three books and I have a fourth on the way. The truth is that it has been a tough, tough journey. Then there is writing; a tough thing as a Kenyan.
Then we have all the writers in this country who have loads of manuscripts that cannot be published one way of the other.
What is happening? We had Kwani? that everyone thought was going to step in forcefully. That is arguable. Then we have many more such as Jalada.
We discussed it. Candidly. Troy Onyango runs Lolwe and he...
2020-10-0228 min
BookBoundEmma Byrne & Freya Daly Sadgrove: Language, Woman!How anxiety gives you power; the art of the self-roast and talking to your Lego - this is Emma Byrne and Freya Daly Sadgrove in conversation with Georgie Codd on 'Language, Woman!'
Content warning: Viewer discretion advised - this talk contains explicit language, and references to depression and anxiety, sexual assault, child abuse and other topics that some may find difficult. Scroll down for places to go for support.
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse...
2020-07-2652 minBookBoundEmma Glass & Margarita García Robayo: Novel(la) IdeasWhat is ‘women’s writing’, are the pressures different? Plus the power of writing without form or plot, and the ghost stories nurses tell - this is Emma Glass & Margarita García Robayo in conversation with Professor Susan Rudy on 'Novel(la) Ideas'.
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Emma Glass, 'Rest and Be Thankful’
Margarita García Robayo 'Fish Soup' ('Ho...
2020-07-231h 14BookBoundStanley Donwood & Caleb Femi: What the Artist SawGrowing up on an estate; who do we create art for, and thwarted lumberjack dreams - this is Stanley Donwood & Caleb Femi in conversation with author Dan Richards on ‘What the Artist Saw’
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Stanley Donwood, ‘Bad Island’
Caleb Femi, ‘Poor’
Dan Richards, ‘Outpost: A Journey to the Wild Ends of the Earth’
Find #Book...
2020-07-2152 minBookBoundJennifer Wong & Soniah Kamal: Relocation, Relocation, RelocationThe influence of place and longing; social norms across time and space and taking your roots with you - this is Jennifer Wong and Soniah Kamal in conversation with author Romesh Gunesekera on ‘Relocation, Relocation, Relocation’
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Soniah Kamal, ‘Unmarriageable : Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan’
Jennifer Wong, ‘Letters Home’
Romesh Gunesekera, ‘Suncatcher’
Find #BookBoun...
2020-07-191h 00BookBoundPaul Mendez & Niven Govinden: In Place of PagesVoguing balls and jehovas witnesses, the “queer canon” and why ticking boxes doesn’t mean living in boxes - this is Paul Mendez & Niven Govinden in conversation with podcaster Octavia Bright.
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Paul Mendez, ‘Rainbow Milk’
Niven Govinden, ‘This Brutal House’
Listen to Octavia Bright on Literary Friction
Find #BookBound2020:
Our website...
2020-07-1656 minBookBoundKim Sherwood & Eleanor Wasserberg: Fiction and History, NowFictionalising your own family history; how to talk about the Holocaust at dinner parties; and the joy of dogs - this is Kim Sherwood and Eleanor Wasserberg in conversation with author Dan Richards on ‘Fiction and History, Now’
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Kim Sherwood, ‘Testament’
Eleanor Wasserberg, ‘The Light at the End of the Day’
Dan Richards, ‘O...
2020-07-1455 minBookBoundPip Adam & Guy Gunaratne: Uncomfortable TruthsFissures between generations; owning the non-belonging and time as a spiral - this is Pip Adam and Guy Gunaratne in conversation with author Azadeh Moaveni on ‘Uncomfortable Truths’.
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Pip Adams, ‘Nothing to See’
Guy Gunaratne, ‘In Our Mad and Furious City’
Azadeh Moaveni, ‘Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS’
F...
2020-07-1257 minBookBoundPaul McVeigh, Alex Wheatle, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett: Touch of ClassBad advice, confidence, and what makes you working class - this is Paul McVeigh, Alex Wheatle, Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett on 'A Touch of Class'.
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Paul McVeigh, 'Common People: An Anthology of Working Class Writers', ed. By Kit De Waal
Alex Wheatle, 'Home Girl'
Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, 'The Tyranny of Lost Things'
2020-07-0947 min
FortellerkunstnerMimesis in crisis: No one Knows EbbaHow do we find the story of a person we do not know? What happens to those who die without leaving memories. This episode will be about childhood and people who disappear from memory.
Under the research question "what challenges, concerns and tools do the presence of mimesis require when oral storytelling is transported to digital platforms?" Mimesis Heidi Dahlsveen has created research project where the purpose is to create storytelling performances for the medium Podcast. The goal is to look at what aesthetic tools are needed to create a holistic artistic experience when the listener is not present in...
2020-07-0842 minBookBoundWinnie M. Li & Daniel Mella: Real Live FictionExploring your trauma through fiction; survival and randomness - this is Winnie M. Li & Daniel Mella in conversation with poet Jamie Trower on ‘Real Live Fiction’
Content warning: viewer discretion advised - this event contains references to sexual assault and bereavement. Scroll down for places to go for support.
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Winnie M. Li, ‘Dark Chapter’
Da...
2020-07-071h 06FortellerkunstnerMimesis i krise: Jeg Kjenner Ikke EbbaHvordan finner vi fortellingen til et menneske vi ikke kjenner til? Hva skjer med de som dør uten å etterlate seg minner. Denne episoden vil dreie seg om barndom.
Under det spørsmålet «hvilke utfordringer, betenkeligheter og virkemidler fordrer nærvær av mimesis når muntlig fortellerkunst forflyttes til digitale plattformer?» har Mimesis Heidi Dahlsveen skapt et FOU prosjekt hvor hensikten er å lage fortellerforestillinger for mediet Podkast. Målet er å se på hvilke estetiske virkemidler som skal til for å skape en helhetlig kunstnerisk opplevelse når lytteren ikke er tilstede i samtid og rom. Fra planlegging til gjennomføring blir det en...
2020-07-0539 minBookBoundDan Richards & Philip Hoare: Writing the fathomsFlotsam, the call of the sea and ghostly dogs - this is Dan Richards & Philip Hoare in conversation with Malú Ansaldo, Head of Performing Arts at Roundhouse Theatre, on ‘Writing the Fathoms’
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Dan Richards, ‘Outpost: A Journey to the Wild Ends of the Earth’
Philip Hoare, ‘RISINGTIDEFALLINGSTAR’
Find #BookBound2020:
Our website: http...
2020-07-0554 minBookBoundMichelle Paver & Richard Lambert: WolvesWriting from an animal's perspective; navigating publishing and why wolves are great - this is Michelle Paver and Richard Lambert in conversation with author and BookBound 2020 Founder Georgie Codd on the theme of ‘Dark Beasts’.
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Michelle Paver, ‘Viper’s Daughter’
Richard Lambert, ‘The Wolf Road’
Georgie Codd, ‘We Swim to the Shark’
Find #BookBou...
2020-07-0251 minBookBoundClare Pooley & C.J. Flood: Authentic AuthorsAccidental sobriety, the gendered difference of drunkenness and feeling judged - this is Clare Pooley & C.J. Flood in conversation with podcaster Octavia Bright on ‘Authentic Authors’
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Clare Pooley, ‘The Authenticity Project: A Novel’
C.J. Flood, ‘Infinite Sky’
Podcasts:
Octavia Bright with Carrie Plitt, ‘Literary Friction’
Find #BookBound2020:
2020-06-301h 00BookBoundDaniel M. Ortberg & Rijula Das: Challenging ConversationsLearning about yourself through listening; compassion for opposing positions and the language of transition - this is Daniel M. Ortberg & Rijula Das in conversation with Amber Massie-Blomfield on 'Challenging Conversations'
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Daniel M. Ortberg, 'Something That May Shock and Discredit You'
Rijula Das, 'Death In Shonagachhi' (publication date TBC 2020)
Amber Massie-Blomfield, 'Twenty Theatres...
2020-06-2855 minBookBoundGeorgie Codd & Samantha Harvey: Shapeless FearsSwimming while anxious, sleeping while depressed, the impact of staring at trees and Googling dead people - this is Georgie Codd and Samantha Harvey in conversation with podcaster Sarah Allely on 'Shapeless Fears'.
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Georgie Codd, Founder of BookBound 2020, ‘We Swim to the Shark: Overcoming Fear One Fish at a Time’
Samantha Harvey, ‘The Shapeless Unease...
2020-06-2549 minBookBoundDavid Lammy & Maya Goodfellow: Migration and Belonging in BritainBritish immigration, education gaps and Comic Relief - this is David Lammy MP, & Maya Goodfellow in conversation with Wasafiri Magazine Editor Malachi McIntosh on 'Migration, Britain and Beyond the Pandemic'.
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
David Lammy, 'Tribes : How Our Need to Belong Can Make or Break Society'
Maya Goodfellow, ‘Hostile Environment: How Immigrants Became Scapegoats'
Malachi Mc...
2020-06-2357 minBookBoundSarah Perry & Abi Palmer: Snakes, crows and paddling poolsLiving with chronic pain, defining yourself and writing through it - this is Sarah Perry & Abi Palmer in conversation with Dan Richards on ‘Snakes, Crows, and Paddling Pools’.
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Sarah Perry, ‘Melmoth’
Abi Palmer, ‘Sanatorium’
Dan Richards, ‘Outpost: A Journey to the Wild Ends of the Earth’
Find #BookBound2020:
Our website: htt...
2020-06-2150 minBookBoundIntisar Khanani & Holly Bourne: Teenage DreamsWriting for young adults - how, why and the responsibilities - this is Intisar Khanani & Holly Bourne in conversation with author C.J. Flood on ‘Teenage dreams'
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Holly Bourne, ‘Places I’ve Cried in Public’
Intisar Khanani, ‘Thorn’
C.J Flood, ‘Infinite Sky’
Find #BookBound2020:
Our website: https://www.bookbound202...
2020-06-181h 02BookBoundMax Porter & Will Harris: Lyricism and LondonCreative processes and doodling - this is Max Porter and Will Harris in conversation with Jamie Trower on ‘Lyricism and London’.
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Max Porter, ‘Lanny’
Will Harris, ‘RENDANG’
Jamie Trower, ‘A Sign of Light’
Find #BookBound2020:
Our website: https://www.bookbound2020.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BookBound2020
2020-06-1650 minBookBoundNikesh Shukla & Monique Roffey: Writing LessonsWriting as a craft; equality in literary education and who needs lesson - this is Nikesh Shukla & Monique Roffey in conversation with Professor Tessa McWatt on 'Writing Lessons'.
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Nikesh Shukla, 'Brown Baby: A Memoir of Race, Family and Home
Monique Roffey, 'The Mermaid of Black Conch: A Love Story'
Prof. Tessa McWatt...
2020-06-1456 minBookBoundHoratio Clare & Sam Mills: Inside MindsShaping your story into memoir; transcending class backgrounds (or not) - this is Horatio Clare and Sam Mills in conversation with Georgina Lawton on 'Inside Minds'.
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Horatio Clare, 'Something of his Art: Walking to Lubeck with J. S. Bach'
Sam Mills 'The Fragments of my Father : A Memoir of Madness, Love and Being a...
2020-06-1147 minBookBoundRenee & Lola Olufemi: Crimes of the Feminist ActivistGenerations of feminists connect - this is Becky Manawatu in conversation with Renée & Lola Olufemi on 'Crimes of the feminist activist'.
Books:
Renée, ‘The Wild Card’
Lola Olufemi, ‘Feminism Interrupted'
Becky Manawatu, ‘Auē’
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Find #BookBound2020:
Our website: https://www.bookbound2020.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BookBound...
2020-06-0956 minBookBoundRobert Webb & Cathy Rentzenbrink: Matters of the HeartGeorgie Codd introduces a conversation between Robert Webb & Cathy Rentzenbrink on ‘Matters of the Heart’
This discussion was part of BookBound, a from-home literary festival that was held during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown. BookBound partnered with Wasafiri Magazine to champion diverse authors, and raised money for the UK mental health charity Mind.
Books:
Robert Webb, ‘Come Again’
Cathy Rentzenbrink, ‘A Manual for Heartache’
Georgie Codd, BookBound 2020 Founder, ‘We Swim to the Shark: Overcoming Fear one Fish at a Time’
Find #BookBound2020:
Our website: https://www.bookbound2020.co.uk/
Tw...
2020-06-0742 min
The Poet SalonAria Aber reads Solmaz Sharif's "The Master's House"Yooo we did it! Another week, another episode. In this one, the one-and-only Aria Aber brings in Solmaz Sharif's "The Master's House" to binge and revel and geek and play and laugh and pray. And oh did we—
ARIA ABER was raised in Germany. Her debut book Hard Damage won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry and was published in September 2019. Her poems are forthcoming or have appeared in The New Yorker, New Republic, Kenyon Review, The Yale Review, Poem-A-Day, Narrative, Muzzle Magazine, Wasafiri and elsewhere. A graduate from the NYU MFA in Creative Writing, where she was...
2020-05-2042 minThe Poet SalonAria Aber + Duino MojitoFriends! Lovers! Nemeses! Hope you're washing your hands! This episode is our first recording entirely remotely—including our interview with special guest Aria Aber, who was gracious enough to deal with a combination of technical difficulties and our muddled quarantine brains. No amount of ambient noise could get in the way of her sheer brilliance though.
ARIA ABER was raised in Germany. Her debut book Hard Damage won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry and was published in September 2019. Her poems are forthcoming or have appeared in The New Yorker, New Republic, Kenyon Review, The Yale Rev...
2020-05-141h 05The Poet SalonTaneum Bambrick reads Aria Aber's "The Only Cab Service of Farmington, Maine"Hope your washing your hands, friends! We're back this week with a cute little episode in which Taneum Bambrick reads Aria Aber's "The Only Cab Service of Farmington, Maine". Last week we kicked it with Taneum talking about sturgeon, sex, and stuff thrown in the trash, and if you haven't heard that yet, we'd highly recommend booping back over in the feed and hitting play ASAP.
Taneum Bambrick is the author of Vantage, which was selected by Sharon Olds for the 2019 American Poetry Review/Honickman first book award (Copper Canyon Press 2019). Her chapbook, Reservoir, was selected by O...
2020-03-2421 min
Show & TellShow and Tell #2 - Inspiring Mini Talks at QMUL - Nasta / Howes / Rafiq / Shapiro / EdmundsonShow and Tell is a series of TED-talk style events where speakers from the arts, humanities and creative industries tell their stories at Queen Mary University of London. Find out more: bit.ly/showandtellqm. This episode features Wasafiri magazine editor Susheila Nasta, Medieval broadcaster Hetta Howes, podcaster Raifa Rafiq, researcher Emma Shapiro and puppeteer Edie Edmundson. Full biogs below.
The show is introduced by Beverley Stewart and hosted by Charlie Pullen from the School of English and Drama at Queen Mary.
Charlie Pullen
Charlie Pullen is a PhD...
2020-03-011h 15
dhaani"Forgetting to laugh ...is like forgetting to sleep or breathe" - Moni Mohsin , Episode 44Having a podcast with Moni Mohsin, face to face , was the much needed dose of laughter, humor, intellect, wisdom and experience. Honored and humbled to have her on 'dhaani' - A platform that wants to promote well-being, on the emotional, psychological, physiological, spiritual level - and laughter , humor and wit is an intrinsic feature of the human life. We spoke about privacy, laying safe boundaries, the need for solitude, social media and intrusiveness, and last but not the least Moni was generous to share her "Social Butterfly" snippets with us.Moni Mohsin was born in 1963 in Lahore, Pa...
2020-01-2151 min
Arts & IdeasThe shadow of empire and colonialismHistorian William Dalrymple, Wasafiri editor Susheila Nasta and novelist Romesh Gunesekera join Rana Mitter for a conversation looking at the East India company, the socialist economic policies and language battles in Ceylon in the 1960s before it became Sri Lanka and the way writing from around the world has reflected changes of attitude to post colonial history.Sri Lankan-born British author Romesh Gunesekera has just published his ninth novel, Suncatcher, depicting two boys, Jay and Kairo, growing up in 1964, who overcome their different backgrounds to become friends at a time when Ceylon is on the brink of...
2019-12-0549 min
Saturday ReviewThe Report, Shook, The Topeka School, 24/7 exhibition, The Morning ShowThe Report is a docu-drama starring Adam Driver telling the story of Senate staffer Daniel Jones and the Senate Intelligence Committee as they investigate the CIA's use of torture following the September 11 attacks.
Shook is a debut play at The Southwark Playhouse which won the Papatango New Writing Prize. How will our reviewers receive this brand new work at a fringe theatre by an unknown writer?
The Topeka School by Ben Lerner is the third part of his trilogy featuring a central character who bears a decided resemblance to Lerner himself. Is this a State of America novel or...
2019-11-0952 min
Poetry KoanEPISODE 26: Richard Scott prescribes Practising by Marie HoweIn this episode of Poetry Koan, Richard Scott prescribes Practising by Marie Howe which you can read here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/54778/practicing. RICHARD SCOTT was born in London in 1981. His poems have appeared widely in magazines and anthologies including Poetry Review, Poetry London, PN Review, Swimmers, The Poetry of Sex (Penguin) and Butt Magazine. He has been a winner of the Wasafiri New Writing Prize, a Jerwood/Arvon Poetry Mentee and a member of the Aldeburgh 8. His pamphlet ‘Wound’ (Rialto) won the Michael Marks Poetry Award 2016 and his poem ‘crocodile’ won the 2017 Poetry London Competition. Soho (Faber...
2019-09-2239 min
MIR PodcastMIR #6 with Mazin Saleem - The PrickIn the sixth episode of the MIR Podcast, Peter J Coles talks to author Mazin Saleem about his debut novel 'The Prick'. They discuss what it means to be a terrible person, middle-class malaise, and the crisis of masculinity.
Show Notes:
Mazin Saleem
Open Pen
Strange Horizons
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Fight Club
The Cable Guy
At Swim, Two Birds by Brian O'Nolan
Les Murray
Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer
The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Open Pen Novelette Series
MIROnline Patreon
This podcast was produced and edited by Peter J Coles
Mazin Saleem is...
2019-05-2435 minMIR PodcastMIR #5 with Lily Dunn - A Wild and Precious LifeIn the fifth episode of the MIR Podcast, Peter J Coles talks to author Lily Dunn about 'A Wild and Precious Life: A Recovery Anthology'. They discuss how the anthology came about, writing addiction, and the ups and downs of alternative forms of publishing.
Show Notes:
A Wild and Precious Life: A Recovery Anthology
Lily Dunn
Shadowing the Sun by Lily Dunn
Granta
The Real Story
Aeon
Hackney Recovery Service
Zoe Gilbert
Kerry Hudson, Lowborn
...
2019-05-1041 min
Project VoiceEpisode 48: Sharbari Ahmed: Breaking South Asian Stereotypes Across GenresSuffering from writer's block? Seek inspiration by listening to author Sharbari Ahmed's journey writing across different genres. She shares why it is important for her to challenge tropes about South-Asians, particularly Bangladeshis and Muslims, in her pieces. I hope you leave feeling motivated to turn your daydreams into stories as I did. - Afsana Oreen Sharbari’s short fiction has appeared in The Gettysburg Review, The Asian Pacific American Journal, Catamaran, Caravan Magazine, Inroads, Wasafiri, Painted Bride Quarterly and Roanoke Review. Her debut novel, Dust Under Our Feet (working title) is forthcoming in 2019 by Amazon In...
2018-10-2040 min
Modern Poetry in TranslationGreetings to the People of Europe! Alemu Tebeje and Chris BeckettALEMU TEBEJE is an Ethiopian journalist, poet and web-campaigner based in London. His poems have been published in the anthologies Forever Spoken and No Serenity Here, featuring 26 poets from 12 African countries. His website is: www.debteraw.com
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CHRIS BECKETT grew up in Ethiopia and his translations of contemporary Amharic poets such as Bewketu Seyoum and Zewdu Milikit have appeared in MPT, Poetry Review and Wasafiri. His collection of praise shouts and laments, Ethiopia Boy, was published by Carcanet/Oxford Poets in spring 2013. More information on www.chrisbeckettpoems.com
2016-08-0702 min
Modern Poetry in TranslationChris BeckettChris Beckett was born in London but grew up mostly in Ethiopia. His poetry been published in Ambit, Envoi, Magma, Modern Poetry in Translation, Poetry London, Rialto, Seam, Smiths Knoll, Stand, The North, The Wolf and Wasafiri.
www.mptmagazine.com
2013-06-0406 min