Mar 04 2008
At the Podium: Chris Abani
At the Podium is a new feature I added to the blog. Posted on Tuesdays, At the Podium posts will feature interviews and speeches delivered by writers and other inspirational people. First up is Chris Abani.
Imprisoned three times by the Nigerian government, Chris Abani turned his experience into poems that Harold Pinter called “the most naked, harrowing expression of prison life and political torture imaginable.” His novels include GraceLand (2004) and The Virgin of Flames (2007).
Abani believes the heart of a place can be best understood through its poems and narratives. He talks about African and Nigerian stories — including his own story of artistic and political awakening, which began with an inventive teacher who taught him the forbidden history of his own people. How, he asks, can we reconcile stories of terror and war and corruption with one’s enduring sense of pure wonder? (Recorded June 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania. Duration: 17:49.)
Source: Ted.com
Click HERE for previous At the Podium posts