The poet on the Bernardine Evaristo book he wishes he wrote, the influence of Kwame Dawes and his love for Banana Yoshimoto
The book I am currently reading
About 10 years ago I was recommended a Colum McCann’s Dancer but I never got around to reading it. That is why I was glad to finally read his new book Apeirogon– and what a book it is. A fiction based on real characters, politics and lives, it is a hybrid that tests the boundary of what a novel can be. What I like about it most is the way in which its multivoiced perspectives hold so much poetry, music and imagery.
The book that changed my life
Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo by Ntozake Shange isa strange bricolage of a book that includes menus, spells, recipes and journal entries. It allowed me to connect with what’s magical in my own community, and showed me that a novel can comment on art, be politicised and also magical. Its voice was so unique and had nothing to do with industry or trends. The book also gave me a clear picture about the struggles involved with living by your art.
The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky: 739 pages. Enough said.
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