Comments on: O País de Akendengué by Conceição Lima

By: amymckie

amymckie — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 15:47:45 +0000

Sounds like a really neat book, too bad no translations exist! I’ve not yet read anything from there either, but hopefully will find something good yet

By: Scribacchina

Scribacchina — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 11:39:42 +0000

I’m not a great reader of poetry, and I really know too little about African literature to even think about trying. Kudos to you, and I’m glad you enjoyed the experience!

By: Arti

Arti — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 01:12:21 +0000

Thank you for sharing this, even though I will not be able to read the poems. I’ve enjoyed reading your informative post. And it’s so interesting reading another language intermingled with English. Is it hard to type Portuguese using your English keyboard?

Also, from your last post I see you’re reading Oscar Wilde with some others. I just wonder if you’ll have time and the interest to join me and a few others in reading Anna Karenina for Sept. and Oct. Just to prepare for the Nov. release of the new movie adaptation. I’ll post about it soon.

By: Miguel

Miguel — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 00:52:09 +0000

It’s always distressing to review books that aren’t translated, if we want to add quotes. I’m never happy doing my own translations.

I haven’t read anything by Conceição Lima, although I’ve perused some of her books.

I’m always suspicious of African writers who write of Africaness, though. Africa is a big place, with several nations, cultures, religions, political systems, histories. Europeans are often accused of treating Africa as a monolithic culture, but I think sometimes the Africans encourage that view with their sense of Africaness, as if that were anything but a sweeping, abstract concept.

I don’t know European writers worrying about Europeaness.