-
Die Landfrage_The Question of Land: Why Land is so important to Kenyans_engl/deutsch
In African society, land has always been a constant feature. Land ownership in pre-colonial Africa, equated to wealth, identity and a source of livelihood. An African owned a piece of land and together with his family, was identified with that piece of land. Land also served the purpose of growing food that would feed your family hence the reason why planting and harvest seasons in many African societies are revered. So are market days where you could sell your produce in exchange for other produce. And finally, owning land ultimately meant that your male children were assured of an inheritance.
-
Dive into Culture Africa 1st Issue – Non-Fiction from six African countries
Dive into Culture Africa 1st Issue – Non-Fiction and Art from six African countries Where The Ghosts Hide By Mariam Hassan “The answer found me in a bucolic dream where the sun rose so high and bled red on my brown skin, I watched the palm trees wave between my fingers and listened to the wind blowing under my earlobes. The bits of myself I managed to salvage had been taken aback and replanted in a house by the water where every morning I was greeted in my mother tongue.” Navigating “It is Well” as a Nigerian Immigrant By Temitope Famakinwa “The other time on a call, a close family friend was eating pounded yam, unwrapped from a banana leaf with egusi soup, seasoned mercilessly with monimoni, ponmo and large chunks of goat meat. I burst into tears as she swallowed a stew-dripping morsel. It…
-
Non–Fiction As Cultural Anthropology – Culture Africa First Literary Magazine out now engl/deutsch
As you contemplate whether to engage with Culture Africa Issue 1, consider that you are not merely encountering literary works, but engaging with a people’s anthropology presented through one of the most creative and intellectually rigorous forms available. You are, in effect, witnessing the foundational moments of a platform whose existence is firmly dedicated to becoming the definitive space for such discourse.
-
Progressive or colonial? Ernst May – A german urban planner in East Africa
In East Africa, the Frankfurt urban planner spent almost 20 years building on behalf of the British Empire. Ernst May was a master of urban planning. Thousands of apartments were built in Frankfurt, then in the Soviet Union. His almost twenty years of work in Africa, on the other hand, is often perceived as a side note. Wrongly so. Can he be called a colonialist? One of the arrogant white guys, who came to settle and misused the land and its people? Yes and no.
-
“Bright Red Fruit” Safia Elhillo’s Masterful Exploration Using Verse Narratives Review by Frank Njugi engl-ger
Through Bright Red Fruit, which was recently named a Kirkus Prize finalist, Safia Elhillo implements poetry as a potent tool to juxtapose illuminating on what it might mean to grow up as a Sudanese in America with exploration of the dark side to the Slam poetry world. Though, she presents it as a vibrant, dynamic form of performance scenery that invites all to share their truths in a communal celebration of expression. Safia implements her Novel– In–Verse poetry as a powerful lens to explore poetry as an art, the complexities of identity, and the longing for love.
-
White Myths- Black History/Weiße Mythen – Schwarze Geschichte – Michael Harriot: Black as F***
White Myths- Black History/Weiße Mythen – Schwarze Geschichte – Michael Harriot: Black as F*** Michael Harriot erzählt in Black as F*** – Die wahre Geschichte der USA“ for english version please scroll down Kurz nach der Bekanntgabe der Präsidentschaft-Kandidatur von Kamala Harris stellte Donald Trump die Frage in den Raum, ob Harris überhaupt Schwarz sei. Wieder hatte die USA eine Diskussion, die dann auftaucht, wenn, wie Obama 2008, Schwarze für ein hohes Amt kandidieren. Dann holt die Geschichte sie ein. Doch es ist eine Geschichte, die von Weißen geschrieben wurde. Michael Harriot hat etwas dagegen, dass dies so bleibt. In seinem nun auf Deutsch erschienen Buch Black as F*** erzählt der afro-amerikanische Autor seine Version der Geschichte der USA. Und räumt mit vielen Mythen auf. Am 26. April 1607 legen an der Küste Virginias im heutigen Jamestown drei britische Schiffe an. 104 Siedler aus…
-
Discovering Shekhinah, South Africa’s Pop and RnB Icon – New Release by Frank Njugi in English and German
Discovering Shekhinah, South Africa’s Pop and RnB Icon by Frank Njugi In modern times, much has been said of how genre feels increasingly irrelevant to the way we think about, create, and consume art. In terms of music, American music journalist, Amanda Petrusich, once explained that few contemporary music stars pride themselves on a pure or traditional approach to form, and most pull purposefully from assorted histories and practices. But sometimes, there comes along an artist who picks up a recognised style/genre and vigorously defends its superiority through a prowess that intermingles with their identities. South Africa’s Pop and RnB artist, Shekhinah Thandi Donnell, mononymously known as Shekhinah, is a prime example of an African act that has displayed superiority in the era of cross-genre pollination, where most music feels and sounds like a hybrid. Modern R&B has morphed into a style of music…
-
Aus der Dunkelheit ins Licht: Priya Hein and Riambel: Discovering the dark history of Mauritius
“Writing is a powerful tool that allows us to break existing norms, long standing hierarchical structures and to challenge traditional narratives often told from one point of view. Fiction provides a safe space for writers to use their pen to air grievances, amplify marginalized voices, raise awareness about societal issues that are often taboo, challenge oppressive regimes, advocate for gender and racial equality and more. Over the centuries, literature has not only acted as a catalyst forsocial change but has played a major role in shaping history as well as her story. “
-
The Writing And Literary Philosophy Of Mauritian Author Sabah Carrim_by Frank Njugi__English and German
Sabah Carrim is a writer who initially as a young writer was against the idea of entering writing competitions. She shared the non-mainstream belief that organizing competitions, and in the process, setting down rules about winning entries, was a sure means of standardizing the stories that were produced. Her ideal was to resist the established order of promoting politically correct literature which was subject to self-censorship, shun writing that said and did nothing, and produce something unique and different that did not serve the limited perspectives and morality of the time. “Instead, the aspiration was to move beyond the particular and attain the universal. Big words. Big thoughts”, she tells me in an exclusive correspondence with her.
-
Casablanca Art School: Progressive African Post-Colonialism in Art //Exhibition in Frankfurt/Germany_deutsch/english
Big Art show in Frankfurt/Germany: Schirn Kunsthalle shows art works from an influential art movement in Morocco: The Casablanca Art School. History is often made when the right people end up in the right place at the right time. That fateful alchemy defines the story of the trailblazing artists who revolutionised modern art in post-colonial Morocco. The locus of this movement was the Casablanca Art School (CAS), which underwent radical changes after artist Farid Belkahia took on the school's directorship in 1962 at age 28, six years after Morocco gained independence from French rule.
