Episode 250: Why Joyful Matters with Nii Ayikwei Parkes

Greetings Glocal Citizens! We are nearing the end of our Writing As Activism series @ the 2024 Pa Gya! Literary Festival in Accra. This week, Ghanaian writer and editor winning acclaim as a children's author, poet, broadcaster and novelist, Nii Ayikwei Parkes joins the conversation. Winner of multiple international awards including the ACRAG (Arts Critics and Reviewers Association of Ghana) award, his novel Tail of the Blue Bird won France's two major prizes for translated fiction – Prix Baudelaire and Prix Laure Bataillon – in 2014. Nii Ayikwei is the founder of flipped eye publishing, a leading small press; serves on the boards of World Literature Today and the AKO Caine Prize; and was chair of judges for the 2020 Commonwealth Prize. Translated in multiple languages, he has also written for National Geographic, Financial Times, the Guardian and Lonely Planet. His most recent books are The Ga Picture Alphabet and Azúcar, a novel. Currently Producer of Literature and Talks at Brighton Festival, he is also author of two collections of poetry The Makings of You (2010) and The Geez (2020), both published by Peepal Tree Press. In this conversation, we journey with Nii Ayikwei through his works, his entreprenuership, his love for food and rum, and much more! See Nii in converation at Pa Gya! here. Where to find Nii Ayikwei? On LinkedIn On Instagram On Facebook On X On YouTube On Tik Tok On BlueSky What’s Nii Ayikwei listening to? Gene Noble Blues Man Robert Cray The Roots Cody Chesnutt + The Roots and Headphone Masterpiece Nii’s Pan-African Activism essential reading list: Howard W. French, Born In Blackness Mongo Beti’s, The Poor Christ of Bomba Ama Atta Aidoo’s, No Sweetness Here Franz Fanon, Black Skin, White Mask You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town, Zoë Wicomb Kofi Awoonor, This Earth My Brother Other topics of interest: Historic Jamestown, Accra Oto Blohum, Old Accra North Kaneshie Thornton Heath, UK About Courttia Newland Learn more about Nii’s uncle Frank Kobina Parkes Nkyinkyim in the Adinkra On Ghana’s Chop Bars About Spanish-Caribbean Rum About Rhum AgricoleSpecial Guest: Nii Ayikwei Parkes.