I don’t know why But disaster makes me laugh, And I smile at the tears of others sometimes. I wonder if that makes me a villain, Or just another crazy spirit waiting to terrorise the universe. I swear I don’t mean any harm And I wouldn’t do anything to hurt a soul, But I [...]
On mild, cloudy nights on the island of Gran Canaria, you can hear the call. Some say when you put a shell to your ear at high tide, or when a ship docks at port. The figure of a woman hovers above the shore, and like lighthouses in the distance, two green irises scintillate from [...]
I stare at the twisted remains of Lagos through the visor of my exosuit as I stalk down the hill. Buildings crumble and slide into the sea. Coils of fiery smoke curl up to the sky. So much work, so much craftsmanship. Gone in weeks. I'm panting as I continue down the hill — with [...]
We would like to invite African writers, or writers with a relevant connection to African Fantasy and Science Fiction, to explore the theme from an angle of their choosing, and submit their initial abstracts for consideration asap. Here is some food for thought, though it should not restrict your own ideas: The socio-political impact of [...]
That speck of soft and moist matter between your fingers -- without a name, origin uncertain -- which you briskly roll and rub, like flour, could be rheum, mucus, or your own skin tissue stuck in your fingernails when you clawed at yourself in your sleep... That cold pool drenching your bed... Likewise, I really [...]
We didn’t notice the storm as it gathered. We were too busy taking in the magnificent African landscape, my binoculars perched on my nose. Watching the elephants, I had been so intent on watching the animals by the river that I hadn’t noticed the darkening skies. When we set out this morning, the sun was [...]
So when you see the eyes of the wind roar under the manes of a furious darkness, know that I, Abiku, have come again. I am the leathery meat for the boastful swallows of the bald earth. I am bony; I choke. I am the ceaseless regurgitation, a death not dying... Tell awele to gather [...]
He gallops into my dream every night Carrying sprinkles of stars on his polished armor as though a heavenly knight. He would join me in the waterbed, And we would swim till I hear the morning birds And wake with my pants wet and dripping. But back in reality, he never returns my stare. He [...]
They were beggars Canvassing for votes Just like alms Soliciting for our approval. To get them there, Into their presumed promised land, They promised everything; They promised to serve us. We voted them in. We even paid them salaries. Now we are their slaves, At the suffering ends. The saviours of the people Have now [...]
My brother e-mails me about how, of late, people have cast words like stares that tell him he has not provided well enough for his family; that their financial struggles have been a burden, like rocks in bags on their backs they didn’t know were there. As he passed through the kitchen yesterday, Judge Judy [...]
