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Books & arts
RSS FeedCheche: Reminiscences Of a Radical Magazine
Karim F Hirji (Editor)
2010-10-27, Issue 502
Cheche, a radical, socialist student magazine at the University of Dar es Salaam, first came out in 1969. The former editors and associates of Cheche revive that salutory episode of student activism in this book with fast-flowing, humor-spiced stories, and astute socio-economic analyses.
Zuma’s Bastard: Encounters With A Desktop Terrorist
Press Release
Azad Essa
2010-10-27, Issue 502
The first book by academic and journalist Azad Essa has been called controversial, brash and insightful, attracting much interest and favourable reviews. 'I have no doubt that this will be the first book of many. I am honoured to be associated with it,’ says Ferial Haffajee, City Press editor-in-chief.
Fixing Global Finance
A Developing Country Perspective on Global Financial Reforms
2010-10-27, Issue 502
The aim of this book is to encourage and stimulate a more informed debate on reforming the global finance. It examines recent developments and problems afflicting the global financial system. From a developing country perspective, it enunciates guidi...
Sauti za Busara music festival
Stone Town, Zanzibar 9 – 13 February 2011
2010-10-27, Issue 502
The eighth edition of Sauti za Busara music festival takes place in Stone Town, Zanzibar 9 – 13 February 2011. Five nights of 100 per cent live African music under African skies. Sauti za Busara (Sounds of Wisdom) is an international festival showcas...
South Africa: Tutu urges Cape Town Opera to call off Israel tour
2010-10-28, Issue 502
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has written to Cape Town Opera to ask them to postpone their planned trip to Israel. Tutu says: 'Just as we said during apartheid that it was inappropriate for international artists to perform in South Africa in a soc...
‘Everyone is lying’: Exposing the global diamond trade
Review of ‘Blood on the Stone’
Brian K. Murphy
2010-10-21, Issue 501
Ian Smillie’s new book on conflict diamonds in Africa ‘tells the story of a small group of international actors taking on the most powerful forces and institutions on the planet’. Exposing the ‘dilemmas and fault lines of international social justice action, in a deeply intimate and detailed fashion’, it ‘relates an important chapter in the long struggle for global corporate accountability in the resource extraction sector,’ writes Brian K. Murphy.
A warrior of the mind
An interview with Neal Hall
Caribbean Book Blog
2010-10-21, Issue 501
Neal Hall’s recently published anthology of verse ‘Nigger For Life’ reflects his painful, later-life discovery that in ‘unspoken America’, ‘race is the yardstick by which he is “first” measured and judged’, writes Caribbean Book Blog, revealing ‘his deep sense of betrayal combined with his fervent passion for life and his desire for equality for all.’ Caribbean Book Blog speaks to Hall about his writing.
Childhood mysteries: Looking at one's inner self
Review of ‘True Murder’ by Yaba Badoe
Sokari Ekine
2010-10-14, Issue 500
A new addition to the African murder mystery genre, Ghanaian Yaba Badoe explores the mystery – literal and symbolic – of coming of age outside Africa.
Capturing poverty and exploitation: Niger Delta’s oil
Review of ‘Curse of the Black Gold’
Sokari Ekine
2010-09-29, Issue 498
cc F SWriting as Nigeria marks 50 years of independence, Sokari Ekine stresses that as vivid as the photos within Ed Kashi’s work ‘Curse of the Black Gold’ are, the reality for Niger Deltans is even worse.
Tackling UK poetry's ethnic imbalance, with no help from Jeremy Hunt
2010-09-30, Issue 498
Under one per cent of poetry books published in the UK are by black or Asian poets. 'This is, quite simply, not fair,' says Bernardine Evaristo, one of the editors of Ten, a poetry anthology published by Bloodaxe Books. A week before the launch of Te...
Taking Nigeria's literary destiny into our own hands
An interview with Emmanuel Iduma
Sokari Ekine
2010-09-23, Issue 497
Although Nigerian authors no longer have to rely on European publishers to have their work disseminated, Nigerian publishing houses still control much of the access to readership for emerging authors, Emmanuel Iduma, publisher of the online literary journal ‘Saraba’, tells Sokari Ekine. Online journals like ‘Saraba’ can help young writers develop confidence and publish their work regardless of their experience level.
Taking Freedom Home
Kagendo Murungi
2010-09-23, Issue 497
Directed and edited by Kagendo Murungi,‘Taking Freedom Home’ celebrates the creativity and vibrance of diverse LGBTGNC (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Gender Non Conforming) movements and particularly the historical initiatives of trans and gender nonconforming people of colour in New York and throughout the US from the Stonewall Uprising in 1969 to the Critical Resistance (CR10) conference in 2008.
A story of South Asians in Africa
Review of ‘The Karimjee Jivanjee Family: Merchant Princes of East Africa 1800–2000’
Fatma Alloo
2010-09-09, Issue 495
Gijsbert Oonk’s history of the Karimjee Jeevanjis, a prominent South Asian family in the East Coast of Africa, speaks ‘volumes on the era of migration and issues of identity’, writes Fatma Alloo. Part of a wave of new writing ‘from Asian-African perspectives’, ‘it could be that now is the beginning of coming of age of a community which so far has engaged in life in East Africa, but has not put down in a concerted way from its own perspective what that life is and how they feel about it’, says Alloo.
Mbiya's cartoons and illustrations
Mbiya 'Papy' Kabengele
2010-09-07, Issue 495
Congolese-Brazilian artist Mbiya 'Papy' Kabengele – whose work can be found at www.mbiya.blogspot.com – displays a selection of his illustrations and cartoons.
The true face of neoliberalism
Review of ‘Social Justice and Neoliberalism’
Jamie Pitman and Adzowa Kwabla Oklikah
2010-08-12, Issue 494
‘Social Justice and Neoliberalism’, edited by Adrian Smith, Alison Stenning and Katie Willis, is a book that strives to ‘shift the focus from stock exchanges and politicians to the damage neoliberalism inflicts on real people and their communities’, writes Jamie Pitman and Adzowa Kwabla Oklikah. Pitman and Oklikah commend the book’s acknowledgment of human tales, though disagree with the authors’ claims that neoliberalism comes in many varied forms, and insist that looking at neoliberalism through different lenses does not invalidate its homogeneity.
Fights for freedom: Africa, Britain and the Second World War
Review of David Killingray’s ‘Fighting for Britain: African Soldiers in the Second World War’
Alex Free
2010-07-29, Issue 492
David Killingray’s ‘impressive’ synthesis of primary and secondary sources on Africans' contributions to the British Second World War effort ‘presents an excellent overview of the experiences of African soldiers called upon to fight in defence of their colonial master,’ writes Alex Free. Although ‘analytically inconsistent at times’, this does not detract from ‘what is a sophisticated and coherent narrative and encouraging antidote to historiography’s historical predilection for histories-from-above,’ says Free.
The elephant in the room
Review of ‘Climate Change in Africa’
Jamie Pitman
2010-07-22, Issue 491
Camilla Toulmin’s recent book, written with ‘agency and intelligence’, is commendable for its ‘statistical insight’ and the ‘perceptive linkages’ it makes ‘between seemingly separate aspects of climate change’, writes Jamie Pitman. But by pinning hopes on market-based solutions for tackling climate change without explicitly acknowledging the role of capitalism in creating the problem, Pitman concludes that ultimately the book is ‘an exercise in “reformism”’.
Detailing the unspoken truths of a deadly relationship
Review of 'The Unspoken Alliance: Israel’s Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa'
Bill Fletcher, Jr
2010-07-13, Issue 490
Bill Fletcher, Jr reviews Sasha Polakow-Suransky's 'The Unspoken Alliance: Israel’s Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa', a book which he finds effective in 'dispelling the notion of the supposed democratic and moralistic character of the Israeli state'.
Credit due but more critical thinking needed
Review of Dani Wadada Nabudere's 'The Crash of International Finance-Capital and its Implications for the Third World'
Martin Williams
2010-07-13, Issue 490
In his review of Dani Nabudere's 'The Crash of International Finance-Capital and its Implications for the Third World', Martin Williams commends the economist's foresight yet laments the absence of stronger analytical engagement.
The life and times of Hubert Harrison
A forgotten synthesis of African-American socialism and Black Nationalism
Larry A. Greene
2010-07-08, Issue 489
Larry A. Greene reviews Jeffrey B. Perry’s ‘Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Harlem Radicalism, 1883-1918’, a biography which Greene believes ‘elevates the lesser-known Harrison to the stature he so richly deserves as one of America’s most perceptive public intellectuals on the critically intertwined issues of American democracy, race relations and class structure’.
In pursuit of progressive property rights
Review of ‘Women’s Land Rights & Privatization in Eastern Africa’
Jonathan Beale
2010-07-08, Issue 489
The growth of the global population and increased competition for land and resources has the greatest effect on the poor, young and female population. Jonathan Beale reviews the book ‘Women’s Land Rights and Privatization in Eastern Africa’, a series of essays about land issues in East Africa edited by Birgit Englert and Elizabeth Daley. This collection of essays was gathered from young scholars in several east African nations including Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya and touches on a variety of topics related to women and land. Beale praises the contributors' thorough research and arguments, but notes the book’s oversight of land ownership in urban centres such as Dar es Salaam and Nairobi.
An ordinary house with extraordinary occupants
Review of ‘A House in Zambia: Recollections of the ANC and Oxfam at 250 Zambezi Road, Lusaka, 1967-97’
Robert Molteno
2010-07-01, Issue 488
Rober Molteno reviews ‘A House in Zambia: Recollections of the ANC and Oxfam at 250 Zambezi Road, Lusaka, 1967-97’, edited by Robin Palmer: a reflection on ‘Southern Africa’s twin struggles for political freedom and economic development’ through the window of an ordinary house with extraordinary occupants.
'Championing common humanity and African education'
Review of 'Africa's Liberation: The Legacy of Nyerere'
Amir Demeke
2010-06-22, Issue 487
Amir Demeke reviews 'Africa's Liberation: The Legacy of Nyerere', a book he regards as an essential read for Africans 'fighting for the real liberation of your community'.
Liverpool’s 2010 Africa Oyé festival: Worth many more encores
Alex Free
2010-06-24, Issue 487
The 2010 Africa Oyé festival took place in Liverpool on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 June. Alex Free reflects back on the ‘UK’s biggest Africa-based music festival’, which boasted ‘an eclectic selection of accomplished musicians from across the pan-African world’.
The truth will set you free
An exhibition of artwork
2010-06-17, Issue 486
The Zimbabwean artist, Owen Maseko, was arrested on 26 March when his art work illustrating ‘decades of oppression and violence that have characterised Zimbabwe’ was exhibited by Radio Dialogue, the Zimbabwean community radio station. Radio Dialogue praises Maseko’s bold political statements presented on canvas.
Books and films received for review
2010-06-10, Issue 485
We have received the following books and films for review. If you are willing to write a review of a book or film from the list below, please send an email to editor@pambazuka.org.
‘Avatar’s’ Pandora: A modern day battle in the Congo
Kambale Musavuli
2010-06-10, Issue 485
The past and present exploitation of the Congo’s people and valuable natural resources is a reflection of the profit-driven destruction of the fictional planet of Pandora, screened in the recent film ‘Avatar’, writes Kambale Musavuli. Musavuli calls for a greater awareness of the on-going and far-reaching devastation endured by this war-torn ‘storehouse of strategic and precious minerals’, which tragically mirrors the ruthless pillage of Pandora.
Africa's Liberation: The Legacy of Nyerere
Edited by Chambi Chachage and Annar Cassam
Pambazuka Press
2010-06-03, Issue 484
Pambazuka Press is pleased to announce the publication of ‘Africa's Liberation: The Legacy of Nyerere’. Edited by Chambi Chachage and Annar Cassam, the book includes contributions from leading commentators, those who worked and fought imperialism alongside Nyerere, members of a younger generation – and Nyerere in his own words.
Celebrating Mwalimu Nyerere: The epitome of servant leadership
Dauti Kahura
2010-06-03, Issue 484
A reading of Pambazuka Press’s new title, ‘Africa's Liberation: The Legacy of Nyerere’, edited by Chambi Chachage and Annar Cassam, prompts Dauti Kaura to reflect both on the legacy of the late Mwalimu – ‘a towering African leader who will always be remembered and missed for his cracking wisdom, unwavering commitment to African causes’– and the state of leadership on the continent today.
'Welcome to Lagos' and other adventures
Imruh Bakari
2010-06-03, Issue 484
Countering Wole Soyinka’s fierce criticism of BBC documentary ‘Welcome to Lagos’, Imruh Bakari, offers a different reading of the three-part series about the lives of marginalised slum-dwellers: Where Soyinka sees people depicted as ‘noble savages’, Bakari is impressed by portraits of ‘self-assured and articulate’ individuals with a sense of social agency that prevents them from being cast as victims.
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