Black Canon: Recent Episodes
Herbert Ndeki
Black Canon, like a shot across the bow, is a literally show that showcases writers from the African diaspora, the beauty and pain in their work, their struggles,, in a tentative to bring African literature back to America and restore a glory lost due to centuries of migrations.
Aaron McGruger is a cartoonist and writer. Creator of the comic strip The Boondocks , he is problably the most important creator of his generation. In this episode, Aaron is talking about the power of media and the importance of image in today society.
Jamal Price is a poet from Cleveland Ohio. He was born February 17,2001 and has been writing poetry for over 10 years now, has not been published yet. I sat down with Jamal and we talk poetry,falling in love in St Louis, footbal and God.
Suheir Hammad is an American poet and essayist born in Palestine and raised in Brooklyn. She is the author of " Born Palestinian, Born Black" and " Drop of this Story" , collections of poems published in 1996. Heavily influence by the hip hop scene, she appears on the HBO show Def Jam Poetry in 2001 after the September 11 attacks on the Twins Towers.
Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus Ohio. He is also the recipient of the McArthur Foundation " Genius" grant. His new book " There is always this year...about basketball and ascension is out now.
Yessoh GD was born in Ivory Coast in West Africa. He studied Telecommunications in Morocco and also lived in India for 6 years , where he said he started writing this book, his first published work of fiction, TALE ...Book 1 Knowledge.
Hari Ziyad is an author whose debut novel , Black Boy Out of Time, a story of growing up black and queer in Cleveland Ohio was recognized amongst the best LGBTQ books in 2021.
Akbar Hussain is a lawyer and co founder of a successful start up. He lived in Nairobi for 7 years and currently resides in New York City. He was born in India and grew up in Switzterland.
Truth is A flightless Bird is his first novel.
Poetry by the fire pit is a poetry event organised by students at Fisk Universty, an HBCU in the heart of Nashville in Tennesse.
this is our 2nd part of the coverage of the poetry workshop organized by Peter Khan which took place at the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
Poetry event organized by Peter Kahn brought together young writers, Dennison University students, mentor by Barbara Fant(poet), Hanif Abubakarik (poet and novelist) and Malika Brooker(poet fron the UK) for a night of spoken words and poetry.
Poetry event organized by Peter Kahn brought together young writers, Dennison University students, mentor by Barbara Fant(poet), Hanif Abubakarik (poet and novelist) and Malika Brooker(poet fron the UK) for a night of spoken words and poetry.
We are continuing our conversation with Munashe Kaseke, author of the collection of stories " Send Her Back " which was published July 25 2022 by Mukana Press. She was born and raised in Harare Zimbabwe and immigrated to the United States at age 19 .
Munashe Kaseke was born and raised in Harare, Zimbabwe. She migrated to the United States of America at the age nineteen when she received a scholarship to study at Drake University in Des Moines , Iowa. She holds a Doctor of Pharmacy and Master in Public Administration degrees. Munashe currently lives and works in Northern California.
Munashe Kaseke was born and raised in Harare, Zimbabwe. She migrated to the United States of America at the age nineteen when she received a scholarship to study at Drake University in Des Moines , Iowa. She holds a Doctor of Pharmacy and Master in Public Administration degrees. Munashe currently lives and works in Northern California.
James Baldwin was an American writer and activist born in Harlem August 2, 1924. As a writer, he ganered acclaim accrossvarious mediums, including essays, novels, plays and poems.
Isabel Wilkerson is an american journalist and author of the book Castes The Origins of our discontent. She was born in Washington DC, graduated from Howard University where she earned a degree in Journalism. She won the Putlizer Prize for her first book The Warmth of Others Sun.
Imbolo Mbue is a Cameroonian-American novelist and short-story writer based in New York City. She is known for her debut novel Behold the Dreamers, which has garnered her the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Blue Metropolis Words to Change Award.
Aime Cesaire is a Martinican and French poet, author, and politician. He was one of the founders of the Negritude movement in francophone literature . He was born June 26, 1913 in BASSE POINTE , MARTINIQUE and died in 2008.
Zadie Smith is a an English novelist, essayist and short-story writer. Her debut novel White Teeth immediately became a best seller and won her number of awards. She is a tenured professor in the creative writing faculty of New York University since 2010.
Yaa Gyasi ( born in 1989 ) is a ghanaian-american novelist. Her debut novel Homegoing published in 2016 won her at the age of 26, the National Book Critic Circle award and the Pen/Hemingway award .
Nazi Boni was born December 31, 1909 in Upper Volta now Burkina Faso. He was a politician who was elected to the French National Assembly on behalf of the Voltaic Union. He also was the first writer from Burkina Faso to ever been published. His novel , Crepuscule des temps anciens, was published in 1962 by Presences Africaines.
Ntozake is a renowned playwright , poet , and novelist. Her works include " Some Sing, Some Cry", which she wrotes with Ifa Bayeza; " Betsy Brown " .
God's Bits of Wood is 1960 novel by the Senegalese author Sembene Ousmane about a railroad strike in colonial Senegal in the 1940s. it was first published in French under the tittle Les Bouts de bois de Dieu.
A Promise Land is a memoir by Barack Obama , the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. It was published November 17, 2020 by Crown Publishing Group.
We are continuing our celebration of Black history month by listening to spoken words by Shihan, Bassey Ikpi, and many more and also exploring more historical events part of the black experience in this country.
We are celebrating black history month by having a little bit of fun on the show. We are listening to spoken word performances by Sekou the Misfit and Steve Connell and at the same time learning a few facts about the black experience in the US.
Gaston Kelman was born in Cameroon September 1, 1953. He arrived in France in1982. He is the Directeur de l'observatoir du Syndicat d'Agglomeration Nouvelle de la ville d'Evry for over 12 years. He published his first book " je suis noir et je n'aime pas le manioc " which immediately becamer a best seller.
Toni Morrison is an American novelist. Born Chloe Anthony Wofford in Lorain Ohio February 18, 1931, she published her first novel " The Bluest Eyes" in 1970 after a successful career as a publisher for Random House. Song Of Solomon was her 3rd novel and the first centered around the black male experience in the United States. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1994 and is to this day probably the most interesting american writer.
Tanehisi Coates is an American author and journalist. He was born September 30, 1975 and gained a wide readership during his time as a correspondent for the Atlantic. He is the author of " A Beautiful Struggle", "Between The World And Me", " We Were Eight Years In Power", and also lately,a novel published in 2019, " The Water Dancer"
Assia Djebbar was born June 30, 1936 Fatima Zohra Imalayene in Algeria. She is a writer and filmmaker who was nominated several times to receive the Nobel Prize of Literature. Her work center around the condition of women in the Arabic World.
Grand corps malade and Abdal malik are French poets, essayists, performers who for years have been central in the fight for equality in France.
Calixthe Beyala is a Cameroonian and French writer , born in 1961 in Cameroon in the shawnty town of New Bell. She is the author of The Sun Hath Looked Upon Me, her debut novel published in 1988 when she was in her tweenties.
Both are Putlizer Prize winner, her in 1988 for he outstanding novel Beloved and him, in 2017 , first rapper to do so for his 4th album Damn. In this episode, we going to attempt to find some similarities between these two artists whose work, about the black experience in this country, has moved so many of us.
Born December 1, 1944 in Fes Morocco, Tahar Ben Jelloun is a poet, novelist, essayist and journalist. His novel Sacred Night published in 1987 won the Prix Goncourt.
Amin Malouf was born in Beirut Lebanon February 25, 1949. Although his native language is Arabic, he writes in French. Of his several works of non fiction , The Crusades Through Arab Eyes is probably the best known.
Kimberle Crenshaw is an american lawyer and professor at UCLA and a leading scholar of critical race theory who developped the theory of intersectionality.
Jessie Williams is an american actor and political activist.He is best known for his role as dr. Avery Jackson on the ABC Series Grey's Anatomy.
Born in Ghana and raised in the US, Cynthia Amoah enters the poetry scene in 2006 through recitations and motivational speaks. Her dynamic voice and amazing stage presence caused her to be highlighted at TEDXOhiostateuniversty and TEDXDrewuniversity.Her voice reflect the color and beauty of her motherland.
In this episode, we are reading from Senghor collection of poetry in both French and English. Also we are going to analyse the Negritude Movement and examinate the relationship between Senghor an Aime Cesaire.
Leopold Sedar Senghor was born October 06, 1906 in Joal , Senegal. A poet ,professor, philosopher and a statesman who became the first President of Senegal when it gained Independence from France. His life was blend of African and European experiences. In World War II ,he fought in an all-African French Army Unit and spent 2 years in a Nazis camp after being captured . In 1984, he became the first black member of the French Academy.
Amos Tutuola was born in Nigeria in 1920 and only had a elementary school level education. The Palm Wine Drinkard, his first published novel, has come to be regarded as the masterwork of one of Africa's best and most influential writers. Drawing on the Yoruba oral folktale tradition, and embellishing his tale with strong myth-odyssey of a devoted palm-wine drinker through a nightmare of fantastic adventure.
Tahar Ben Jelloun was born in Fez Morocco. He is one's of France most celebrated writers: his most recent book, Racism Explained To My Daughter, was a best seller when it was first published in 1998 .He was also a Prix Goncourt winner in1987 for his novel The Sacred Night, which was the first book by an Arab writer to be honored.
Bessie Head was born in South Africa July 6, 1937 from a white woman and a black man and lived in foster home until she moved to Botswana in the late 60's and began to write. She is today one the most important writer of her generation and have influenced many.
Allah Is Not Obliged is Ahmadou Kourouma second novel and won the Prix Renaudot and The Prix Goncourt des Lyceens when it was published in 2000. It's the story of Birima, 12 years old , orphan searching for his aunt across African countries and forced to become a child soldier.
Senegalese writer Marietou Ba Bileoma ( Ken Bugul is her Pen name) is our guest this weekend. She is the author of novel " The Abandoned Baobab " published in 1982 in French and translated in English in 1991. We are talking migrations and politics in Africa. She also receiced the Prix Renaudot for her novel " Riwan ou le chemin du sable".
Alain Mabanckou is a French-Congolese writer. He teaches French and Francophone Studies at UCLA .
Ferdinand Leopold Oyono is a Cameroonian writer, diplomat and actor. his acclaimed novel the Old Man and the Medal explores the conditions of Cameroonian people under colonialism.
On this week episode, we are showcasing the masterpiece Things Fall Apart by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. Considered to be the father of Africa Modern Literature , Chinua Achebe "Things Fall Apart" succeeded at articulating the anxieties of African people under precolonial and under colonial rule in the way no other novel as done it before him.
Kenule Beeson "Ken" Saro-Wiwa (October 11,1941-November 10,1995) was a Nigerian writer, television producer and environmental activist whose activism and courage lead to his execution in 1995 by Sani Abacha people. In this episode, we are reading from his second novel Sozaboy ( written in pidgin English) and talking about his legacy.
Buchi Emecheta , who died in at age 72, was a pioneer among female African writers, championing the rights of girls and women in her novels. In this episode, we follow her trajectory, her struggles and her everlasting love and devotion to change the condition of women in Africa and around the world.
Published Under the pseudonym Eza Boto, Cruel City is Mongo Beti first ever published novel.Born in 1932, Mongo Beti lived and worked in France where he found exile. Many of his books were banned by the French government due to his relationship with leaders of political oppositions in Cameroon .He died in 2001 in Cameroon where he finally returned in 1991 after more than 50 years of exile.
So Long A letter, Mariama Ba first published novel ( the first one by a woman in Africa and in French) is an autobiographical read as a " cry from the heart of the Senegalese women... But it is also a cry which can symbolize a cry of women everywhere "
Yambo Ouologuem is perhaps the most controversial African writer that ever existed. His critically acclaimed novel Bound To Violence published in 1968 won the Prix Renaudot in 1969, the first African writer to do so,then banned from shelves because of accusations of plagiarism.
In conversation with Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie Ngozie. We talking race, gender and what it means to be a feminist today
We met with author Imbolo Mbue in Cincinnati Ohio at the Books by the banks festival and discussed the American dream and her debut novel Behold the Dreamers.
In her second novel , the Beggars Strike , Senegalese writer and pioneer of African literature in the French language, Aminata Sow Fall is trying to answer the question are poor people more or less valuable then rich people.
Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi share her thoughts on the danger of stereotypes, feminism and race in America.
Damon Young author of What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker and I discussed what it means to be black in America.
Reading from Cesaire Cahier d'un retour au pays natale, Notebook of a return to my native land.We immerse ourselves in one of the most important book ever written by an African , a black man.
As we remember the 9/11 attacks in New York, American Poet Suheir Hammad offers poems of comfort and resistance.
Julia Alvarez talks about her 2nd novel, In the time of the butterflies, at the Library Of Congress Book Festival