Ghana – Afrikult.

Afrikult. at Pa Gya! A Literary Festival In Accra 19 – 21 October 2018

Afrikult. team from L-R: Keren Lasme, Zaahida Nabagereka and Marcelle Mateki Akita at Pa Gya! 2018. Accra, Ghana.

In October we were lucky enough to be involved in the second ever edition of Pa Gya! A Literary Festival In Accra. For Marcelle Akita, this was somewhat of a home-coming as she is Ghanaian, but for Afrikult. as a whole, it was a new adventure! With the support of the Miles Morland Foundation we were able to facilitate a workshop and book club at the three day long event. Writers Project Ghana worked in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Ghana to deliver a really exciting and packed programme of discussions, readings, performances, workshops and book launches.
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Afrikult. to deliver workshops in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya

Monday, 3 September 2018

Afrikult. Team from L-R: Keren Lasme, Zaahida Nabagereka and Marcelle Mateki Akita. Photo credit: Sarah Ozo-Irabor.

In the following months the Afrikult. team will be travelling to Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya to take part in the Kaduna Book and Arts festival, Pa Gya! A literary festival in Accra and collaborative work with Jalada Africa collective in Nairobi. Through the generous support of Book Buzz Foundation, Miles Morland Foundation and Arts Council England the team is able to extend their literary and creative writing workshops to young people and adults on the African continent, while also conducting research and building networks necessary in widening access to African literatures, which is the literary organisation’s core mission. Continue reading “Afrikult. to deliver workshops in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya”

Interview with William Du Bois lead member of Trotro Vibes

William Du Bois is a poet, performer and the lead member of Trotro Vibes, a group of performers who ‘bring art to the everyday people’. In fact, the artists’ mobile performance of songs and poetry is inspired by Ghana’s most used public transportation: Trotro. Their aim is to educate, inform, advocate and entertain commuters who use this mean of transportation.

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Bite-size Review: The Blinkards | Kobina Sekyi

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Hahahahaha- chuckles and elating guffaws is what best characterizes this brilliant piece of comedy. The Blinkards by Sekyi Kobina afflicts the reader with fits of unbridled laughter intermittent by painful episodes of tearful revelations. The play satirizes the damaging influence of western culture on African societies. Continue reading “Bite-size Review: The Blinkards | Kobina Sekyi”

Bite-size Review: From Pasta to Pigfoot | Frances Mensah Williams

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From Pasta to Pigfoot | Frances Mensah Williams

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A fluid easy read with a bemusing touch on culture and romance. From Pasta to Pigfoot, presents a youthful narrative that grants deep questions of identity and self discovery a universal resonance. With a homely and nostalgic tone Frances Mensah Williams simultaneously arouses anger and compassion within her readers. Continue reading “Bite-size Review: From Pasta to Pigfoot | Frances Mensah Williams”

Interview with Frances Mensah Williams on her novel From Pasta to Pigfoot

Frances Mensah Williams has bedazzled high street book retailers, with readers buzzing like bees to honey in light of the arrival of her début novel From Pasta to Pigfoot. Behind her quiet and receptive demeanour lies flourishing rivulets of creativity. As you know, wherever there’s a good story Afrikult. must follow the trail to its source. The Afrikult. team caught up with the author in 2015 to find out more about herself and her book- of course. Continue reading “Interview with Frances Mensah Williams on her novel From Pasta to Pigfoot”

Bite-size Review: Ghana Must Go | Taiye Selasi

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Another one of those books that holds an immense potential of being a spectacular piece of literature yet fails to meet the reader’s expectation. Ghana Must Go, unravels a matrix of family dilemmas that commence with the depature of the central character Kweku Sai. It is a tale of truimph over tragedy, love and loss. Continue reading “Bite-size Review: Ghana Must Go | Taiye Selasi”

Bite-size Review: Everyday In Love | Richard Akita

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Every Day in Love is a heart melting homage of an ordinary man’s love to his wife. Inspired by mobile texts messages sent to his wife, Richard Akita transcends every day expressions of affection to a moving and veritable heartland of poetic effervescence. Continue reading “Bite-size Review: Everyday In Love | Richard Akita”

Bite-size Review: Wife Of The Gods | Kwei Quartey

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Kwei Quartey immediately captures the reader’s attention in his debut novel Wife of the Gods throughout the easy-to-read, fast-paced and suspense ridden action. Seamlessly written and told, the story follows Detective Inspector Darko Dawson who is impetuously assigned from the Criminal Investigations Department Headquarters in Accra, to lead a murder investigation in the small town, Ketanu, and neighbouring village, Bedome, in Ghana’s Volta Region. Continue reading “Bite-size Review: Wife Of The Gods | Kwei Quartey”

Bite-size Review: No Sweetness Here | Ama Ata Aidoo

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And there really isn’t! In this collection of eleven short stories, Aidoo explores a newly independent Ghana during its season of nominal “progress” and “freedom” to reveal through her characters’ conversations the true depth of national divide. Within social conversations (community chatter and clandestine dialogues) Aidoo creates a rhythmic uproar of witty, pious, condemning, bewildering, cunning and entertaining voices throughout each story. Continue reading “Bite-size Review: No Sweetness Here | Ama Ata Aidoo”