
Culture


What is the new image of Africa?
“Africa is finally seizing control of its image” goes the mantra. But which Africa and which image?

Sympathy for the ‘Devil’
A New York Times article that's respectful and mostly accurate, including the use of terminology, when covering African Traditional Religion.

Restaging the Death of Patrice Lumumba
The merits of restaging 'Une Saison au Congo,' Aimé Césaire's history of the life and death of Patrice Lumumba, in London, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor.

This Film Has Been Banned
The South African feature film, "Of Good Report," deals with the relationship of a teacher with his underage student. The local censors decided it is a crime to screen it.

The Banned Film
South Africa's film censor bans the film 'Of Good Report' by Jahmil XT Qubeka, which deals with predatory teachers.

A Season in the Congo
A review of Aimé Césaire's 'A Season in the Congo' (Une Saison au Congo) at the Young Vic theatre in London.

The Unruly Rush of the City
Julie Mehretu's canvases depict a public zone dichotomous to that of their own surrounding, brimming with a sense of the life of a city which we can never really know or measure, whose politics is alive but oddly incubated.

Nigeria’s drama filled history
The historian Max Siollun wants to present Nigerian history as something more than a mechanical rendering of dates and facts.

Eating Nando’s in Gaborone
One of the most striking features of Botswana's capital city, is its malls.

Winter Reading List
A sample of Africa Is a Country editors and contributors list the books keeping them warm this winter.

Blackface Fish
Fresh as the sea and funny, or tired, racist bull?

This man is Afrikaans
On a visit to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city, academic Herman Wasserman gets reminded of home and how people perceive him.

Three Books on Nelson Mandela
The American public radio network, NPR, asked me, in anticipation of Nelson Mandela's birthday, to recommend 3 books its listeners could read on his life and legacy.

My Favorite Photographs N°17: Thina Zibi
Thina Zibi demonstrates with her images the incredible innovation evident in contemporary South African design and style.

Summer Reading List
What are some Africa Is a Country editors and contributors reading during their northern hemisphere summer break?

Whose “new African writing”?
Finding more multilingual literary pathways will benefit all of African — and world — literatures.