"Mirroring the schizophrenic nature of the characters, the text is broken up into alternating sections of narrative and diary entries. The lyrical nature of the prose counters this fragmentation, as resonances develop amid "cut-up" dreams and fantasies in a fashion similar to a musical composition."--BOOK JACKET.
A SUNDAY TIMES BEST POETRY BOOK OF THE YEAR In this blistering anthology, poet, editor and DJ Kayo Chingonyi brings together a selection of exceptional Black British poets. This is his dream mixtape featuring a cross-generational span of current poets extending and inhabiting the spirits of the ancestors. Following in the tread of Lemn Sissay's The Fire People, More Fiya aims to lodge in the mind of its readers for a lifetime, radiating to touch the lives of many. Including work from: Jason Allen-Paisant, Raymond Antrobus, Janette Ayachi, Dean Atta, Malika Booker, Eric Ngalle Charles, Dzifa Benson, Inua Ellams, Samatar Elmi, Khadijah Ibrahiim, Keith Jarrett, Anthony Joseph, Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa, Vanessa Kisuule, Rachel Long, Adam Lowe, Nick Makoha, Karen McCarthy Woolf, Momtaza Mehri, Bridget Minamore, Selina Nwulu, Gboyega Odubanjo, Louisa Adjoa Parker, Roger Robinson, Denise Saul, Kim Squirrell, Warsan Shire, Rommi Smith, Yomi Sode, Degna Stone, Keisha Thompson, Kandace Siobhan Walker, Warda Yassin, Belinda Zhawi
The only optician on the island of Lampedusa in the Mediterranean is an ordinary man in his fifties, who used to be indifferent to the fate of the thousands of refugees landing on the coast of the Italian island. One day in the fall of 2013, the unimaginable scale of the tragedy became clear to him, and it changed him forever: as he was out boating with some friends, he encountered hundreds of men, women and children drowning in the aftermath of a shipwreck. The Optician and his seven friends managed to save 47 people (his boat was designed to hold ten people). All the others died. This is a poignant and unforgettable account about the awakening of conscience: more than that, it brings home the reality of an ongoing refugee crisis that has resulted in one of the most massive migrations in human history. More than 360 people died in the disaster off the coast of Lampedusa on October 3, 2013. The original interview with Carmine Menna, the basis for this book, can be heard at http: //bit.ly/optlamp
Raphael is a would-be author, but there have been so many distractions to the novel he has been writing for forty-one years that many of the characters have lost patience and gone off to do their own thing...but somehow, miraculously, the novel seems to write itself. The Frequency of Magic traverses an array of lives connected to the village of Million Hills. There's the speculative imagination of Luke's travels through mythic landscapes pursued by his nemesis, the carnival figure of the Great Bandit. There's the psychological odysseys of the musician, a jazz saxophonist, and Ella, an actor, both long separated from Million Hills, working their ways across the USA and Europe. When the paths of these exiles cross, a love affair begins. Time in this richly ambitious novel is both circular and simultaneous, but moving, as Raphael ages, towards a sense of dissolution both of persons and of the culture of the village. Above all, there is Raphael's belief that in the making of his fiction, however messy and disobedient its materials, art can both challenge the destructive passage of time and make us see reality afresh.
Eric Ngalle thought he was leaving Cameroon for a better life... Instead of arriving in Belgium to study for a degree in economics he ended up in one of the last countries he would have chosen to visit--Russia. Having seen his passport stolen, Eric endured nearly two years battling a hostile environment as an illegal immigrant while struggling with the betrayal that tore his family apart and prompted his exit. This painfully honest and often brutal account of being trapped in a subculture of deceit and crime gives a rare glimpse behind the headlines of a global concern.
Displacement, Memory, and Travel in Contemporary Migrant Writing examines contemporary cultural representations of transforming identities in the era of increasing global mobility. It pays particular attention to the ways in which cultural encounters are experienced affectively and discursively in migrant literature. Divided into three parts that deal with refugee writing and displacement, migration and memory, and new European identities, the volume develops current methodologies and shows how postcolonial studies can be applied to the study of cultural encounters. Writers studied include Simão Kikamba, Ishmael Beah, Madhur Jaffrey, Diana Abu-Jaber, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Caryl Phillips, Jamal Mahjoub, and Monica Ali, and several refugee writers.
'A wonderful collection stemming from a hugely important project keeping young Welsh writers connected to Europe despite all attempts to sever these crucial cultural ties.' – Rachel Trezise 'Anthologies such as this one are the footings of the recently-burnt bridges that we need to rebuild. They help to tear down the walls put up around us. Always important, they are now vital.' – Niall Griffiths Ulysses's Cat brings readers the work of some of the most outstanding authors of the younger generation from Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia and Wales who participated in a project of exchange residencies originally launched on the Croatian island of Mljet, where, according to legend, shipwrecked Ulysses found shelter. As Britain becomes metaphorically unmoored and drifts away from Europe, keeping connected through reading and dialogue provides us with new perspectives on our place in the world and on the tumultuous times we live in. The works of poetry, prose and essays included here offer a snapshot of the concerns and preoccupations shared by young writers from a region with a rich literature that rarely reaches English-language readers and at the same time confirms the vitality of the bilingual Welsh literary scene.
Sometimes we have to battle through barriers to achieve our dreams. These are the stories of men and women who fought for fairness. From the first black footballer to appear for Wales, to the first Welsh woman to become a doctor and the slave’s daughter who worked to help others. Inspiring stories of people who followed their hearts and made life better, not only for themselves, but for others. The book features a bonus section on Wales' connections with slavery, helping teachers to tackle this difficult and important subject. Teacher Feedback: “We used Eric Ngalle’s story to explain some of the reasons why people come to Wales from all around the world, and to show what migration and asylum mean. It helped our children understand the experiences of some of their classmates.” “The section on Wales and slavery was very helpful. Recommended.” “I linked the Chapter on Frances Batty Shand to the ebook Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt as part of planning on an Expressive Arts Topic. I took the class to the ‘Picton Reframed Exhibition’ in the National Museum in Cardiff. We were able to touch on enslavement in a way which was appropriate but did not shy away from the realities and the learners responded with passion and emotion to the story. I think there is huge potential for delving even deeper into these difficult topics with the help of books like these.”