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African Book Festival in Berlin – Three Days of Literature and Pleasure – deutsch-english
Once again, the large number of visitors to the ABF, most of them young people, gives one hope that African literature can be very much alive. Whoever gets involved in this festival for three days can get very close to African literature. All authors are present for the whole three days, they are not flown in for a short time but spend the days at the festival. And if you want, you can get very close to them. You can sit down with them and talk.
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African Book Festival Berlin 2023: Boost for African Literature in Germany. Interview mit/with Co-Organizer Venice Trommer
This year, the African Book Festival in Berlin will take place for the fifth time. In recent years, it has developed into one of the most important festivals for African literature in Germany and Europe. It is a public festival in the classical sense. And it has successfully survived the restrictions of the pandemic years. The appetite for African literature is greater than ever. One feature of the ABF is that the program is designed by African curators. The organizer, InterKontinental e.V., selects a literary personality each year. This curatorial principle, which has characterized the last editions, was cancelled this year with a bang. Shortly after the announcement of this year's curator, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a storm of indignation…
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Frankfurt Book Fair 2022: The Fascination is back//ger_engl
The most recent Frankfurt Book Fair in 2022 lasted just under six days. It was the first face-to-face event in three years. Cultureafrica was at the fair. Talked to African exhibitors, was at readings, discussions and events around the book fair. It was full, it was exhausting, it was: great class! That's how you could describe the exciting days in October, because no matter if it was worth it for each individual. Almost everyone agreed on one thing: The Frankfurt Book Fair is alive!
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Diversity in Germany: Raus aus den Schubladen! Florence Brokowski-Shekete Book Review ger/engl
„Raus aus den Schubladen! Meine Gespräche mit Schwarzen Deutschen“ von Florence Brokowski-Shekete ist das zweite Buch der Autorin, die mit dem autobiografischen Band „Mist, die versteht mich Ja!“ einen überraschenden Erfolg hatte. In ihrem neuen Buch portraitiert sie zwölf Schwarze Deutsche, die in meist gewöhnlichen Berufen arbeiten. Von Hans Hofele FOR THE ENGLISH VERSION PLEASE SCROLL DOWN Das mag auf den ersten Blick nicht sehr spannend sein, ist aber genau das Gegenteil davon. Es wäre natürlich einfacher, Musiker:innen, Sportler:innen, Schauspieler:innen nach ihrem aufregenden Leben zu fragen. Über sie wird in den Medien auch häufiger berichtet. Schon in der Einleitung macht Florence Brokowski-Shekete an einem Beispiel deutlich, was von Schwarzen Deutschen erwartet wird, wenn sie sich unter das von weißem…
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Could This Be Love? Essays about Interracial Relations – Interview with Editor Stefanie Hirsbrunner – ger/engl
Im ersten Teil der dreiteiligen Büchervorstellung zum Thema Diversity in Germany geht es um den Essayband Kann das denn Liebe sein. Could This Be Love? Der Band versammelt fünfzehn Essays von verschiedenen Autor:innen aus Deutschland und Afrikanischen Ländern. Allen ist eines gemeinsam: Es geht um die Probleme, Hürden und Chancen von Interracial Relations. Privat, berührend, unterhaltsam, erschütternd . Das Buch ist im August 2022 beim Verlag InterKontinental erschienen und auf dem African Book Festival in Berlin auf zwei Podien vorgestellt worden. Im Interview sprach ich mit der Herausgeberin Stefanie Hirsbrunner, die gleichzeitig auch Teil des InterKontinental Verlags und des African Book Festivals in Berlin ist. The first part of the three-part book presentation on the topic of diversity in…
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African Book Festival in Berlin 2022. A Report. engl/ger
Yesterday.Today.Tomorrow. That was the leitmotif of this year’s African Book Festival in Berlin. Finally without any restrictions, finally everything live and on the spot. The joy about this could be felt everywhere when you were out and about at the festival. Cultureafrica was media partner this year, but this should not distort the view when reporting about this event. By Hans Hofele/cultureafrica.net FÜR DEUTSCHE VERSION NACH UNTEN SCROLLEN But: Where does one start to report? About a literary event that is more than the sum of its events? Even in retrospect, it was a very intense long weekend. If you count the launch of InterKontinental on Thursday evening, it was four days in which you could get involved with…
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African Book Festival Berlin: Interview with South African curator Lidudumalingani_engl/ger
This year’s edition of the African Book Festival Berlin has an impressive list of authors who will take part in the festival. Margaret Busby will be there, Igoni Barrett, JJ Bola, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and many more. Lidudumalingani Mqombothi is this year’s curator of the festival, which takes place from August 26th to 28th in Berlin. The native South African sees himself as a multimedia artist. Writing, photography, filmmaking. In 2016 he won the renowned Caine Prize for African Writing with the short story „Memories We Lost“. Two months before the festival, Hans Hofele didn’t just talk to him about literature. FÜr DEUTSCHE VERSION NACH UNTEN SCROLLEN HH: You once said “photography is like poetry in a picture”. You…
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Europe’s biggest Africa Festival starts again in Wuerzburg – with lots of Female Power_ ger/engl
Ende Mai (26.5.-29.5.) ist es endlich wieder soweit: nach der Corona bedingten Unsicherheit im letzten Jahr, dem Ausfall 2020, steigt Europas größtes afrikanische Musik- und Kulturfestival, das International Africa Festival ganz regulär. Dann ziehen wieder tausende Besucher:innen in die Mainmetropole Würzburg. Die Mainwiesen verwandeln sich wieder an diesen speziellen, faszinierenden Ort, der wie kaum ein anderer für afrikanische Musik steht. Dieses Jahr stehen starke afrikanische Frauen im musikalischen Fokus. FOR ENGLISH VERSION PLEASE SCROLL DOWN Awa Ly (Senegal), Angélique Kidjo, (Benin) Lira (Südafrika), Lura (Kapverden) und Nkulee Dube (Südafrika) sind die weiblichen Headliner der Konzertabende. Aber auch andere, weniger bekannte Frauenacts sind dieses jahr zu erleben: Treesha (Deutschland/Kenya), Amir Kheir (Sudan) oder Fafa Ruffino aus dem Benin. Weitere Highlights…
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I ve got the power! Interview with musician Melane ger/engl
On the first of April her next single "Pona Libela" will be released, the video one day later on Youtube: We are talking about Melane Nkounkolo better known as Melane. She is the power woman and jack-of-all-trades, musically elusive. Definitely influenced by her parents' homeland, which is the Republic of Congo in western Central Africa. Melane stands for many directions in modern pop music, but the traditions are still easy to hear. But Melane stands for much more: music production!blogging!African studies!empowerment!
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Barefoot in Germany – Interview with/mit Rwandan/German author Tete Loeper engl/ger
At the end of 2020, cultureafrica reported on the book Barefoot in Germany, which was published in English. It is written by the Rwandan-German author Tete Loeper. Tete Loeper herself grew up in Rwanda in the 1990s, spending time in Burundi and Congo during the genocide. In Rwanda, she worked in projects with girls at risk and also gathered information there for her later book. Barefoot in Germany is about the (fictional) life of the young Mutoni from Rwanda. Her dramatic life, which begins in the red-light district of Hamburg, soon turns to the southern German province of a small town. There she is met not only by helpfulness but also by a world of prejudice, complacency and ignorance.…
