66 results for “by Ayokunle Falomo”

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  • Afrofuturisms: Ecology, Humanity, and Francophone Cultural Expressions

    by Isaac Vincent Joslin

    $36.95
    *Ships in 7-10 Business Days*

    An exploration of Francophone African literary imaginations and expressions through the lens of Afrofuturism 

    Generally attributed to the Western imagination, science fiction is a literary genre that has expressed projected technological progress since the Industrial Revolution. However, certain fantastical elements in African literary expressions lend themselves to science fiction interpretations, both utopian and dystopian. When the concept of science is divorced from its Western, rationalist, materialist, positivist underpinnings, science fiction represents a broad imaginative space that supersedes the limits of this world. Whether it be on the moon, under the sea, or elsewhere within the imaginative universe, Afrofuturist readings of select films, novels, short stories, plays, and poems reveal a similarly emancipatory African future that is firmly rooted in its own cultural mythologies, cosmologies, and philosophies. Isaac Joslin identifies the contours and modalities of a speculative, futurist science fiction rooted in the sociocultural and geopolitical context of continental African imaginaries. Constructing an arc that begins with gender identity and cultural plurality as the bases for an inherently multicultural society, this project traces the essential role of language and narrativity in processing traumas that stem from the violence of colonial and neocolonial interventions in African societies. Joslin then outlines the influential role of discursive media that construct divisions and create illusions about societal success, belonging, and exclusion, while also identifying alternative critical existential mythologies that promote commonality and social solidarity. The trajectory proceeds with a critical analysis of the role of education in affirming collective identity in the era of globalization; the book also assesses the market-driven violence that undermines efforts to instill and promote cultural and social autonomy. Last, this work proposes an egalitarian and ecological ethos of communal engagement with and respect for the diversity of the human and natural worlds.



  • Tender Headed

    By Olatunde Osinaike

    $17.95

     

    ships in 7 - 10 business days 
    Tender Headed, selected by Camille Rankine as a winner of the 2022 National Poetry Series, is a musical and formally playful meditation on Black identity and masculinity

    "In this dynamic debut collection, Nigerian American poet Osinaike unpacks ideas of masculinity with playful musicality . . . Acutely attuned to poetic lineage, Osinaike cites established poets Yona Harvey, Ladan Osman, and Morgan Parker, setting a context for his own new and versatile voice." —Booklist

    The irony of transformation often is that we mistake it to have occurred long before it does. Tender Headed takes its time in asserting the realization that growth remains ever ahead of you. Examining the themes of Black identity, accountability, and narration, we encounter a series of revealing snapshots into the role language plays in chiseling possibility and its rigid command of depiction. Olatunde Osinaike's startling debut sorts through the many-minded masks behind Black masculinity. At its center lies an inquiry about the puzzling nature of relationships, how ceaseless wonder can be in its challenge of a truth. In the name of music and self-identity, the speaker weaves their way through fault and how it amends Black life in America.

    This is demonstrated best in how the demanding, yet vulnerable tone for the collection is set in "Men Like Me," its restless opening poem. Here, we find the speaker reciting a chronicle of generational neglect from men that became him also. Earnest and sharp, there is a beauty in seeing a poet not shy away from both the melancholy and resolve of rescripting their path while cherishing their steps and missteps along the way. This collection is a panel aching of fathers, sons, uncles, grandfathers, all of whom would do well to join in and confront shared privileges that are typically curtailed or altogether avoided in conversation. Tender Headed entrusts the heart to be a compass, insisting on a journey unto itself and a melodic detour toward tenderness precise with its own footing.

  • Book cover image

    Fady Joudah

    $18.00

    From one of our most acclaimed contemporary writers, an urgent and essential collection of poems illuminating the visionary presence of Palestinians.

    Fady Joudah’s powerful sixth collection of poems opens with, “I am unfinished business,” articulating the ongoing pathos of the Palestinian people. A rendering of Joudah’s survivance, [...] speaks to Palestine’s daily and historic erasure and insists on presence inside and outside the ancestral land. 

    Responding to the unspeakable in real time, Joudah offers multiple ways of seeing the world through a Palestinian lens—a world filled with ordinary desires, no matter how grand or tragic the details may be—and asks their reader to be changed by them. The sequences are meditations on a carousel: the past returns as the future is foretold. But “Repetition won’t guarantee wisdom,” Joudah writes, demanding that we resuscitate language “before [our] wisdom is an echo.” These poems of urgency and care sing powerfully through a combination of intimate clarity and great dilations of scale, sending the reader on heartrending spins through echelons of time. […]is a wonder. Joudah reminds us “Wonder belongs to all.”

  • A Siege of Owls: A Novel cover image
    $28.00

    An urgent and unforgettable work of magical realism following a young man coming of age in rural West Africa as he bears witness to the violence, upheaval, and hope in a rapidly changing society

    In a drought-stricken Igbo village, young Ekwe grows up haunted by owls, myths, and the boundaries of a world too small to contain his restless spirit. After touching a forbidden leaf that his father warns will trap him in astral planes, he is swept into a journey that will carry him across Nigeria, through savannas, deserts, and conflict zones, and into the heart of a nation’s unraveling.

    Taken in by Danjuma, a gentle Fulani cowherd with a sprawling family and an instinct for danger, Ekwe enters a world of cattle herding, migration, and precarious survival. As insurgents tear through northern towns and tribal wars erupt in the Middle Belt, Danjuma leads his family on an epic pastoral flight southward, seeking safety in a country where no place is truly safe. Along the way, Ekwe witnesses birth and burial, kindness and betrayal, and the fragile alliances that form between strangers bound by necessity.

    But violence follows them like a shadow, and the owls—symbols of myth, menace, and prophecy—perch over every new beginning. Back in his own village, Ekwe’s twelve-year-old sister is pressured to marry a wealthy adult suitor. Ekwe becomes obsessed with how much their lives would improve if she married this man, but Oyibo, stubborn and proud, resists the path that is laid out for her. Meanwhile, simmering tensions between herders and farmers threaten to ignite, forcing Ekwe to confront the truth of where he belongs.

    Sweeping, immersive, and fiercely humane, A Siege of Owls traces a child’s odyssey across a fractured landscape, weaving folklore with the stark realities of insurgency, displacement, and the longing for home. It is a story of two families—one lost, one gained—bound together by fate, resilience, and the dangerous hope that somewhere, peace still exists.

  • Book cover image
    $16.00

    *ship in 7-10 business days

    In TheTears of the Black Man, award-winning author Alain Mabanckou explores what it means to be black in the world today. Mabanckou confronts the long and entangled history of Africa, France, and the United States as it has been shaped by slavery, colonialism, and their legacy today. Without ignoring the injustices and prejudice still facing blacks, he distances himself from resentment and victimhood, arguing that focusing too intenselyon the crimes of the past is limiting. Instead, it is time to ask: Now what? Embracing the challenges faced by ethnic minority communities today, The Tears of the Black Man looks to the future, choosing to believe that the history of Africa has yet to be written and seeking a path toward affirmation and reconciliation.

  • Book cover image

    Kiano Moju

    $35.00

    African cuisine is infused with Californian culture to create delicious, unique meals in this beautiful fusion cookbook.

    Kiano Moju was born to a Kenyan mother and a Nigerian father and raised in California. While she spent her summer breaks in Kenya, her home in the states during the school year held African house parties where Nigerian jollof rice, moin moin (steamed bean cakes), roasted chicken legs, and plantains were a common part of life. On weekends and special occasions, they would make Kenyan dishes like samosas, sauteed collard greens, barbecued meat, and other favorites from her childhood including Ethiopian and Eritrean recipes. As Kiano says, “Californian cuisine embraces the flavors of its immigrant communities while celebrating the state’s agriculture and the flavors of fresh produce,” and that’s the concept behind her cooking.

    AfriCali is not a traditional cookbook, but rather one inspired by the delicious meals Kiano has experienced in life. The recipes are unfussy but dedicated to flavor including:

    * Peri Peri Butter
    * Herby Harissa
    * Lentil Nuggets
    * Cherry Tomato Kachumbari
    * Kijani Seafood Pilau
    * Chicken and Okra Wet Fry
    * Berbere Braised Short Ribs
    * Coconut and Cardamom Mandazi
    * Garlic Butter Chapos
    * Pili Pili Pineapple Margarita

    The gorgeous food photography as well as photos from the author’s travels in Africa make this a cookbook like no other. Dive in and enjoy the delicious, unique meals that the whole family will love.

  • When We Ruled: The Rise and Fall of Twelve African Queens and Warriors cover image

    Paula Akpan

    $32.00

    Discover the reigns of twelve African queens and warriors from across the continent in this immersive and pioneering history.

    Njinga Mbande. Nana Yaa Asantewaa. Makobo Modjadji VI. Ranavalona the First.

    These queens and warriors ruled vast swathes of the African continent, where they led, loved, and fought for their kingdoms and people. Their impact can still be felt today, and yet, beyond the lands they called home, so few of us have ever heard their names.

    In When We Ruled, historian Paula Akpan takes us into the worlds of these powerful figures, following their stories and how they came to rule and influence the futures of their people. Through deep research and discovery, Akpan will uncover new truths and grapple with uncomfortable realities, allowing us to be immersed in countless moments of bravery, intrigue, and, for some, the unraveling of their rule.

    With reigns spanning from pre-colonial Nigeria to the rich lands of Rwanda, and from Ancient Egypt to apartheid South Africa, these rulers shed new light on gender politics in these regions, showing how women were celebrated and revered before colonizing powers took hold, and continued to be long after.

    In this game-changing narrative of twelve lives, Akpan takes us on a spellbinding, enrapturing, and immersive history that is nothing short of revelatory.

  • Always and Forever (Bayou Dreams) cover image
    $12.99

    In Gauthier, love isn’t just found. It’s forever.

    Phylicia “Phil” Simmons has built her life around restoring the past. Her craftsmanship and eye for beauty have made her one of Louisiana’s most sought-after artisans, but taking on the renovation of Belle Maison, a once grand bed and breakfast in her hometown, means more than reviving an old house. It means facing Jamal Johnson, the ambitious architect whose bold ideas test her patience as much as they stir something she isn’t ready to name.

    He believes in innovation. She believes in preservation. But the more they clash over blueprints and late-night plans, the harder it becomes to fight the pull between them.

    In the heart of a small Southern town where history lingers and hearts rarely rest, two people on opposite sides of a dream begin to blur the line between rebuilding what was lost and reaching for something that could last always and forever.

  • My Everyday Lagos: Nigerian Cooking at Home and in the Diaspora

    by Yewande Komolafe

    $35.00

    *ships in 7 - 10 business days*

    An acclaimed food writer and cook celebrates the many cuisines found in Lagos, Nigeria's biggest city, with 75 recipes that mirror her own powerful journey of self-discovery.

    The city of Lagos, Nigeria, is a key part of a larger conversation about West African cuisine and its influences throughout the world. My Everyday Lagos consists of 75 dishes that are all served in recipe developer and food stylist Yewande Komolafe's fast-paced, ever-changing home city of Lagos. These recipes reflect the regional cooking of the country and reveal two complementary qualities of Nigerian cuisine—its singularity and accessibility. Along the way, through informative essays that place ingredients in historical context, Yewande explains how in a country where dozens of ethnic groups interact, a cuisine has developed that transcends tribal boundaries.

    Yewande's personal narrative is woven throughout the book and cautions against being burdened by notions of authenticity. To those in the African diaspora, this book highlights food that may have been adapted and integrated into the cuisines of the places they live. The bukas of London, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Toronto, and Newark all have their unique vision of Nigeria and are reflected in their food. The recipes, including classics like Jollof Rice, Puff Puff, and Groundnut Stew, are a starting point for the home cook, allowing them to trust the ingredients and achieve the variety of textures and flavors Nigerian food is known for. Beautiful photographs of the city and its people invite readers into the energy and pulse of Lagos, while the food photography entices them to make each and every dish in the book.

    This stunning cookbook is Yewande Komolafe's in-depth exploration of a cuisine as well as the definitive book on Lagos cuisine that reveals the nuances of regions and peoples, diaspora and return—but also tells her own story of gathering the scattered pieces of herself through understanding her home country and food.

  • Carnaval Fever: A Novel cover image

    Yuliana Ortiz Ruano

    $27.00

    A young girl growing up in an Afro-descendant community of Ecuador in the 1990s confronts familial secrets and the ever-present specter of male violence, set against the vibrant background of Carnaval

    "In this wondrous novel, both life's potential for beauty and harshness sing together. Ortiz has written a story you will not forget." —Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain Gang All-Stars

    Ainhoa lives a protected life within the walls of her grandmother’s house in the neighborhood of Esmeraldas in Ecuador. Surrounded by a gaggle of aunts who love and teach her, Ainhoa narrates moments that evoke the powerful presence of music and dance in her daily life. Seen through Ainhoa’s innocent eyes, the difficult themes that have defined the South American country’s recent history, including economic hardship, migration, and upheaval, are but one side of an enormous cultural richness steeped in the joy, music, and vibrancy of this singular community of women.

    Following the contours of the Carnaval season and sublimely translated by Madeleine Arenivar, Yuliana Ortiz Ruano’s sensorial and viscerally alive novel brims with poetry and exuberance, as well as the pain of an existence lived in the forgotten corners of the world. Carnaval Fever is the introduction of an important new voice in Latin American letters, available in English for the first time.

  • Anansi and the Talking Cloth cover image
    $17.99

    Illustrated by Caldecott Honor Award winner Ekua Holmes, this modern and original Anansi the Spider story explores traditional kente-cloth making, written by award-winner Caroline Brewer, in cooperation with weaving expert Kwasi Asare.

    When kente-cloth weavers stop weaving, Anansi the Spider must save the city in this rhythmic African folktale, a rhyming read-aloud trickster picture book.

    This rhyming and rhythmic original Anansi fable finds Anansi the Spider needing to save the city. One day the sun stops shining because the kente-cloth making spiders stop weaving in protest against mass-produced cloth. Handmade kente cloth has made Africa famous and the spider city wealthy. Without it, the city is doomed.

    Anansi faces the biggest challenge of his spider life, and his clever trickster past, coupled with help from his wife, will restore harmony.

    Author Caroline Brewer and master kente-cloth weaver Kwasi Asare worked together to create this fresh take featuring the African trickster Anansi the Spider, a classic hero.

  • Ready for Revolution: The Life and Struggles of Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture)

    by Stokely Carmichael

    $25.00
    The astonishing personal and political autobiography of Stokely Carmichael, the legendary civil rights leader, Black Power architect, Pan-African activist, and revolutionary thinker and organizer known as Kwame Ture.

    Head of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. Honorary prime minister of the Black Panther Party. Bestselling author. Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) is an American legend, one whose work as a civil rights leader fundamentally altered the course of history—and our understanding of Pan-Africanism today. Ready for Revolution recounts the extraordinary course of Carmichael's life, from his Trinidadian youth to his consciousness-raising years in Harlem to his rise as the patriarch of the Black Power movement.

    In his own words, Carmichael tells the story of his fight for social justice with candor, wit, and passion—and a cast of luminaries that includes James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Bayard Rustin, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Ho Chi Minh, and Fidel Castro, among others. Carmichael's personal testimony captures the pulse of the cultural upheavals that characterize the modern world. This landmark, posthumously published autobiography reintroduces us to a man whose love of freedom fueled his fight for revolution to the end.

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