Release Date: July 10, 2014
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
Boubacar Boris Diop's latest collection of essays pushes the reader to look beyond the many clichés that are all too common currency in descriptions of Africa today. From the perspective of such diverse topics as the Rwandan genocide, African literature, and globalization, Diop interrogates the portrayal of Africa in the international media and points to truths that must be told—and heard.
Contents:
Introduction.
Rwanda: Against the Habit of Misery.
Remembering Genocide Through Art.
Yolande Mukagasana: Talking to the Killers.
Kigali-Paris: The Two-Headed Massacre.
Beloved Country, My Beautiful People!
Senegal Between Cheikh Anta Diop and Léopold Sédar Senghor.
The New Wretched Earth.
A Letter to a Friend About the Sinking of the Joola.
African Literature: Words Versus Things.
Write and ... Keep Quiet!
Mongo Beti and Us.
Exchange to Change Our World.
Carona, The Global Village.
Negro-African Identity and Globalization.
Invisible Cities and the Armchair Traveler.
Senegalese author Boubacar Boris Diop has also written Murambi, The Book of Bones (2006), La gloire des imposteurs (2014, with Aminata Dramane Traore), Le Temps de Tamango (2002, with Mongo Beti), and Louise Im Blauweiss Gestreiften Leibchen (2011).
