Africa

‘I was fascinated by the idea of women existing beyond the confines of the patriarchy and colonialism’—An interview with Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu on The Creation of Half-Broken People

Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu chats to JRB Editor Jennifer Malec about her new novel, The Creation of Half-Broken People. The Creation of Half-Broken…

Academic

Continuities between Tswana worlds and Black world politics—Read an excerpt from Keorapetse Kgositsile and the Black Arts Movement by Uhuru Portia Phalafala

The JRB presents an excerpt from Uhuru Portia Phalafala’s new book, Keorapetse Kgositsile and the Black Arts Movement. Keorapetse Kgositsile…

Africa

‘The dread of Whites and of ghosts loomed in his mind’—Read an excerpt from the new English translation of Louis Timagène Houat’s rediscovered classic The Maroons

The JRB presents an excerpt from the rediscovered classic The Maroons, first published in 1844 and released for the first…

Book excerpts

[The JRB exclusive] ‘The first wound for all of us who are classified as “black” is empire’—Read an excerpt from Tsitsi Dangarembga’s new book Black and Female

The JRB presents an excerpt from Black and Female by Tsitsi Dangarembga. Black and FemaleTsitsi DangarembgaFaber & Faber, 2022 Read…

Fiction

‘I was constantly weaving fact and fiction, and blurring truth with fable’—CA Davids chats to Efemia Chela about her new novel How to Be a Revolutionary

Contributing Editor Efemia Chela speaks to CA Davids about her new novel, How to Be a Revolutionary. How to Be a RevolutionaryCA…

Africa

‘Putting myself in those blood-soaked shoes was the most difficult thing to contend with’—Robert Jones Jr talks to Efemia Chela about his debut novel The Prophets

Contributing Editor Efemia Chela spoke to Robert Jones Jr about his debut novel, The Prophets. The ProphetsRobert Jones JrQuercus Publishing, 2021 Efemia…

International

To overthrow Europatriarchy, logic and emotion must work in tandem—Shayera Dark reviews Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone by Minna Salami

Europatriarchy takes centre stage in Minna Salami’s elegant book of essays Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone, writes…

Academic

Philosophy in Africa, or Africa in Philosophy? Mary Carman reviews Debating African Philosophy: Perspectives on Identity, Decolonial Ethics and Comparative Philosophy

Mary Carman reviews Debating African Philosophy, a new collection of essays that originated during student protests and demands for the…

Fiction

A depth charge aimed at the submerged wreckage of slavery—Wamuwi Mbao reviews The Water Dancer, the debut novel by acclaimed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates

Between Baldwin, the world and the Old South—Wamuwi Mbao reviews The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The Water DancerTa-Nehisi CoatesHamish…

Africa

[Temporary Sojourner] Liberia, the original African escapist fantasy—Efemia Chela reviews Wayétu Moore’s sweeping and poetic debut novel She Would Be King

Fantastic Returns and Where to Find Them—The JRB Francophone and Contributing Editor Efemia Chela travels to Liberia with Wayétu Moore’s…

Africa

‘I will always love Africa, because from the minute I arrived it treated me like a white girl.’—Author Adam Smyer reflects on his visit to the Open Book Festival

The following is an edited excerpt from a work in progress by American author Adam Smyer, whose debut novel, Knucklehead,…

Fiction

An exhilarating elegy for the slaves and storytellers of old—Lara Buxbaum reviews Patrick Chamoiseau’s wildly inventive novel The Old Slave and the Mastiff

Tracing the memory of bones, ‘a long thread of words that attempted to fulfil the universe’—Lara Buxbaum reviews The Old…

Biography & Memoir

Illuminating a mighty poet and a total artist—Rustum Kozain reviews Dread Poetry and Freedom: Linton Kwesi Johnson and the Unfinished Revolution

The JRB Poetry Editor Rustum Kozain reviews David Austin’s new book Dread Poetry and Freedom: Linton Kwesi Johnson and the Unfinished Revolution, finding…

Africa

The rediscovery of the ordinary does not preclude the extraordinary—Jennifer Malec reviews Esi Edugyan’s novel Washington Black

The JRB Editor Jennifer Malec reviews Esi Edugyan’s Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novel, Washington Black. Washington Black Esi Edugyan Serpent’s Tail‎, 2018 Esi…