In Catalyst news this week, Joanne Hichens’ thriller, Divine Justice was included in Amplitude Magazine’s roundup of books featuring amputees. Amplitude Magazine is a publication “for amputees who want to live more fully.”
“It is in the act of remembrance and re-evaluation of such music that a fuller appreciation of the hidden spaces in this country’s struggle heritage come to light. There is deep history to be excavated. Each in their own way, these albums are psalm songs of the South African jazz holy grail.” Liam Brickhill in Africa is a Country on two recently reissued albums from Matsuli Music, a label focused on South African rarities and jazz classics.
“In the early days of the Cold War, the CIA launched journals, concerts, and co-opted high-profile African-American NGOs.” Head to CrimeReads, to read an excerpt from Susan Williams’ book White Malice: The CIA and the Covert Recolonization of Africa.
You know what? Why not? Dolly Parton and and James Patterson are working on a novel together “about a young singer with a dark secret that inspires her music, [and] draws on Parton’s experiences in country music.”
“Her work falls into the bleak but with empathy category, and she is that rare gem, a writer who crafts, then polishes, every single sentence. Also, her range is extraordinary: she’s good at everything she writes, whether it’s a short story, a historical novel, autobiographical exploration, a poem, a fable.” Writer, editor, and Short Story Day Africa board member Helen Moffett writes a lovely congratulations to author Karen Jennings on her Booker Prize nomination. It’s a wonderful piece, and makes us even happier to be working with Helen and the whole Short Story Day Africa team on our forthcoming release Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa.
A far too relatable erasure poem from R.L. Maizes at Electric Literature
“While it might be a children’s book, The Lorax‘s ominous message of what happens when you harvest nature to death made it an icon of the environmental movement, spawning movie and stage adaptations not to mention a gazillion school projects.” The enduring legacy of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, and how a visit to Kenya helped inspire him to write it.
This month’s Imbiza Journal, a South African-based magazine focused on African writing, is centered on women’s voices and is edited by none other than Barbara Boswell, author of Unmaking Grace.
World Kid Lit, a fantastic blog dedicated to celebrating and sharing world literature for young readers, particularly translated lit, hosted a discussion on the many languages of African literature. You can watch the discussion on their YouTube channel. And be sure to follow them as they head into September, and their big #WorldKidLitMonth celebration!
“This is what falling in love with blackness looks like. It’s messy. It’s angry. It’s silly. It’s beautiful. It’s sad.” Namwali Serpell, author of The Old Drift, “How ‘The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill’ Taught Me To Love Blackness” for NPR
“The well-placed book prop creeps into many of TV’s richest worlds, working as an easy way to poke fun at elitist intellectual facades, or even as a way to give humanity to some of T.V’s most cold-blooded characters” What do TV’s richest characters read?
“My mom wrote from a love of craft, a love of words, and a strong sense of mission and purpose” Children’s book author Eloise Greenfield (Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems, Africa Dream) died earlier this month. Read an obituary of this beloved and prolific author, and then head to poets.org to read some of her work.
Don’t forget that all this month, you can save 20% on Chanette Paul’s thriller/family drama Sacrificed (translated by Elsa Silke) in honor of Women in Translation Month! Check out an excerpt from the book here.
And finally, it’s time for a drink. Here are five cocktails inspired by books. And if you want a little something to eat with that, be sure to check out this recipe from Zimbabwean restaurant Zweli’s, which was shared at our recent author event with Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu and Tsitsi Jaji.
