Date: Tuesday 15th February, 6.30pm
Venue: Brunei Suite, SOAS, Thornhaugh St, London WC1H0XG
Speakers:
- Mark Gevisser – South African journalist and author
- Dinaw Mengestu – Author
Chair:
- Ellah Allfrey – Deputy Editor of Granta
Event description:
African writers and writing forms an integral part of Granta 114: Aliens.
Whether it’s the closely observed ecology of married life or the violent acts of criminals operating from afar, Granta 114 draws into focus one of the most pressing issues of our time: Who do we call outsiders?
Aliens includes three factual pieces from writers on African topics.
Mark Gevisser – South African journalist and author of Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred -writes of five decades of friendship between two gay South African men who live out their secret lives in a counter-cultural, Apartheid-era Johannesburg, under a regime determined to keep black and white apart.
Dinaw Mengestu, author of Children of the Revolution and one of The New Yorker’s 20 Under 40, reports on a war in Eastern Congo managed by exiles in France.
In an extract from his forthcoming memoir, Binyavanga Wainana recalls losing sight of himself in rural Kenya on a part-time job convincing farmers to grow cotton crops again.
Join Mark Gevisser and Dinaw Mengestu as they read from their pieces and engage in discussion with the audience.
The discussion will be followed by a drinks reception.
Source: RAS-Royal African Society
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