Selves: An Afro Anthology of Creative Nonfiction

by Basit Jamiu (Curator)

Selves is the first in the Afro Anthology Series, a project curated by Basit Jamiu, a Nigerian writer and editor at Enkare Review. Co-edited by Emmanuel Dairo, nonfiction editor at Praxis, and Uzoma Ihejirika, former writer at Bakwa, Selves features 14 writers: Sibongile Fisher, winner of the 2016 Short Story Day Africa Prize and finalist for the 2017 Brittle Paper Award for Fiction; TJ Benson, finalist for the 2016 Short Story Day Africa Prize and the 2017 Brittle Paper Award for Fiction; Sada Malumfashi, finalist for Writivism’s 2017 Kofi Addo Prize for Nonfiction; Alithnayn Abdulkareem, nominee for the 2016 Short Story Day Africa Prize; Ama Asantewa Diaka; Gbolahan Badmus, finalist for the 2016 ACT Award; Hauwa Shaffii Nuhu; Howard M-B Maximus; Innocent Acan Immaculate, winner of the 2016 Writivism Prize; Kevin Alaneme; Kenechi Uzor; Mapule Mohulatsi; Qamarun Nisa; and Umar Turaki, finalist for the 2017 Miles Morland Scholarship.

140 pages, ebook

First published February 9, 2018

Reviews

[Azeeza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful Beautiful read. Selves is a collection of 24 Creative Nonfiction by African writers. While I couldn't connect with a few, I connected greatly with most of them.
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I can't even pick a favourite story. I read Umar Turaki's story twice, I cried the second time. I called my sisters in school after I read Tolu Daniel's story (just read the book to know why), I decided to try to write a creative non-fiction after I read Sibongile Fisher's really beautiful story and I had to google Postpartum depression after reading Megan Ross's story. I realised I knew so little about pregnancy.
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These stories were all different but they all came from a passionate place, they all are products of the bravery to speak the truth exploring family relationships, love, writing, politics, terrorism, health, childbirth, drug use, heartbreak and many more themes that would resonate with your "self"
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[Aisha (thatothernigeriangirl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

SELVES is an Afro anthology of creative nonfiction that contains 24 extremely diverse anecdotes from 24 authors, from different parts of the continent. The anecdotes covered topics such as homosexuality, writing, language, faith, child birth, relationship, love and even Boko Haram.
When Basit, the curator of this anthology, pitched the book to me, he mentioned quite passionately, that it took him and his team a while to gather, edit and publish the anthology and the fact that “creative nonfiction” was an untapped genre in African literature, encouraged them a great deal.

If you followed Brandon’s humans of New York series from the continent, this book is a more literary version of that storytelling and it forces you to come to terms with the fact that most things we read in fictions aren’t actually “fiction” but an extension of how our community experiences life differently.

Oh and my favorite anecdotes are This Hell Not Mine by Kenechi Uzor, The Shapes of Loss by Umar Turaki and Like Rambo’s Bullets by Gbolahan Badmus 🤗. I rate the book 4(.5) stars and that’s only because a few of the anecdotes read more like poetry than nonfiction and I had a hard time deciphering those particular ones and since it’s a “non-fiction”, that kinda ruined those ones for me.
Thank you so much Basit Jamiu for gifting me this book in exchange for an honest review