Maaza Mengiste, Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu Banda, Remy Ngamije, Bisi Adjapon, and Chike Frankie Edozien wrapped up day 1 of Season 2 of Afrolit Sans Frontières from several cities around the world on April 20, 2020.
Afrolit Sans Frontières, a new initiative for writers of African origin, was started in March as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic international lockdown. Like its first edition, Season 2 of the festival will feature some of the leading names in African letters today with curation by Maaza Mengiste and festival founder Zukiswa Wanner. This season sees 16 writers from 14 countries streaming from 13 cities in English, French, and Portuguese over eight days under the festival theme “What I Wish You’d Ask Me.”
Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor kicked off proceedings on day one and she was scheduled to be followed by novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright Chris Abani. With the session unable to happen due to factors beyond the U.S.-based Nigerian’s control, festival co-curator Maaza Mengiste took up the slot. Over the next hour, Mengiste brought something we hadn’t seen at this growing festival. It was a frank discussion with Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu Banda, Remy Ngamije, Bisi Adjapon, and Chike Frankie Edozien who all took part in Season 1. They went over the ground on what writers needed to go through to survive in the fast-paced exciting world of writing.
You can watch the sessions in full below.
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