All of them, the same faces. The ones I’d forgotten but immediately remembered. They buzzed around the foyer, like bees protecting their honey, the pot of gold. Which one of them flew closest to the Queen Bee? By her side? Which bee knew to stroke her the right way, the right time? Excite her, woo […]
moreShe steps off her bike, just as I had turned back to admire a house. She pushes her bike through the gates. She has short hair which has never been dyed, yet has somehow maintained its brown hue. She wears a seamed skirt. A blouse and a short blazer. A small leather purse across her […]
moreAs we entered, the two young girls were drawing on the coffin. We couldn’t see what exactly, just that they were using bright colours, shaking the pens. Glitter pens maybe? We could hear the ring of gypsy-style ankle bracelets as they moved around the coffin, seemingly unaware of our entrance, entirely absorbed. The younger of […]
moreFat little girl. You wear your Sunday cotton dress. It has black and white flowers on it. The kind of flowers you would draw. You have forgotten your colours, shed your petals. You have curly hair and freckles. You wear a silver hairband and earrings. The horizon is grey. The skies dark. It looks like rain. […]
moreShakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’ had me confused. Was this the same man who wrote Macbeth? How come ‘As You Like It’ went against everything I have learned about storytelling?Sure, Shakespeare so brilliantly presents the cards within the first half hour of this three-hour play. And this left you feeling excited. But none of the […]
moreChange is both exciting and unsettling. On an impulse, I disembarked at Gloucester Road tube-station. Gloucester road is close to where I lived as a child. I was convinced a subconcious sense of direction would lead me straight to the house we lived in. What street was it on again? It didn’t matter. I’d find […]
moreTo read the first few translated scenes of my new novel, click here – Download: Translation Also On Behalf
moreOpen the box that says “basement.”You put it there five years ago. You plan to put the box out on the streets. You open it first.Things wrapped in newspaper. A wooden fertility doll from Ghana, one of its arms is still broken. You once lent it to a friend as she wasn’t conceiving. Her husband […]
moreHamna and Hadisha stood on the other side of the street staring at the same sea-gulls my son was staring at. The sea-gull was picking at trash bags. My son started chasing the bird away. The girls laughed and screamed. Their door was open, as was ours.“Come play!!” they shrieked in excitement at my son. […]
moreHi Aliefka, I was at school with you for a while in London – long, long ago at Glendower. I spent an evening stuck on Google last night and found your website and blog. Very interesting, congratulations on your work. I will look out for your books in English so I can read them. I read pages […]
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