· April, 2012

Stories about Literature from April, 2012

Botswana: Review: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

  30 April 2012

Nana reviews The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, an interesting detective story set in Botswana: “It is unique, in that it brings both the old and the new together. It is not superfluous with its description of Africa as a tomb for the death and the dying and only inhabited...

Jamaica: Of Art & Literature

  27 April 2012

Nadine, Unscripted, notes that there are three Jamaican writers who have made the shortlists for the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize and Commonwealth Short Story Prize, while ART:Jamaica blogs about an exciting new local space for art.

Jamaica: Literary Festival Founder Gets Guggenheim Fellowship

  23 April 2012

Nadine, Unscripted says that “kudos are in order for poet, author and co-founder of Calabash International Literary Festival Trust, Kwame Dawes, who has been awarded a 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship for Poetry, one of the most prestigious of its kind in the world.”

Chile: The Role of Municipalities in Promoting Reading

  23 April 2012

Enzo Abbagliati in his blog Cadaunadas [es] asks, “What is the relationship between promoting reading in Chile and municipal elections?” He says that two main tools that impact what and how much Chileans read depend on Municipalities: public libraries and municipal schools. Enzo asked three candidates for mayor of Providencia...

Bulgaria: “Why Should We Read Books?”

  23 April 2012

As many in Bulgaria fear that there are fewer people reading books now than in the past, Ognyan Antov of Anapest offers [bg] three answers to the question “Why should we read books?”: 1. Because thus we absorb the language and its grammar and spelling; 2. This way, we come...

Jordan: New Website for Short Stories

Project Pen is an initiative to promote short story writing by Arabs and “encourage a new generation of writers, creating new kinds of stories, for a new kind of readership”. By sharing stories across social media, and by connecting writers with each other, Project Pen intends to bypass traditional publishing...

Botswana: Love in the Shadows

  18 April 2012

Love in the Shadows is a new book by Lauri, a writer and blogger living in Botswana: “For the first time I'm trying my hand at a thriller/romance. Here's the blurb: Songbird Kedi Taukobong is living her dream. Enormously successful as an Afro-pop musician, she travels the continent performing to...

Trinidad & Tobago: Review of Bagoo

  17 April 2012

Caribbean Book Blog publishes a review of blogger Andre Bagoo‘s first book of poetry: “One [has] to have ample amounts of time and quiet to properly ponder and appreciate the complexity of ideals, both subtle and raw, that are presented within.”

Tunisia: Book Readers to the Streets!

Following weeks of demonstrations in Tunis, a new event has been announced, called “L'avenue ta9ra”, or “The avenue reads”. The plan is for Tunisians to bring their books to Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the most symbolic thoroughfare of the capital, and take part in a collective reading session.

Mali: Timbuktu, a Cultural Treasure in Peril

  16 April 2012

The name Timbuktu conjures up a majestic, stately image. However, the war in northern Mali and the presence of small terrorist groups constitute a serious threat to the fate of Timbuktu. This treasure of humankind is in danger and numerous groups have raised the alarm.

Mozambique: First African Board Book Gathering

  14 April 2012

Maputo is playing host to the first ever African meeting of publishers of board books. These are sturdy books, published on a small scale (often for children) with strong covers and resistant bindings. Culture reporter Inocêncio Albino wrote about the event [pt], and has been tweeting photos of books by Kutsemba Cartão, the first...

Bulgaria: Light on a Mysterious Death

The collaborative media outlet svobodnoslovo.com writes [bg] about a new book by Lyubomir Levchev [bg], who mentions Lyudmila Jivkova's death 30 years ago. It has always been reported that Jivkova, the daughter of Bulgaria's last communist dictator, died in a car accident. Levchev explains, however, that she might have been...

Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Remembering Wayne Brown

  3 April 2012

“Writers are easily thought of as selfish people. But the writers I know—and Wayne Brown in particular—practice what I find to be a particularly beautiful form of generosity: a commitment to telling the truth”: Rachel Kadish reflects on her friendship and correspondence with the late Trinidadian writer Wayne Brown.