This Man by Kasimma

Episode 3 of the The Shorttales Club podcast, hosted by OZ, titled "This Man by Kasimma" was published on October 27, 2022 and runs 57 minutes.

October 27, 2022 ·57m · The Shorttales Club

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Summary

In this episode of The Shorttales Club, we talk about an interesting story written by Kasimma and titled This Man.Kasimma is an Igbo term meaning most beautiful. She is an alumni of Chimamanda Adichie's Creative Writing Workshop, the Short Story Day Africa workshop, the International Writing Program, and others.She's been a writer-in-residence, in artists' residencies across Africa, Asia, and Europe. Her works appear or are forthcoming in The Book Smuggler's Den, Jellyfish Review, Kiwetu Journal, Orbis Journal, and Afreecan Read.Halloween Comes EarlyThis Man is a story about this man. It takes the reader on a journey of discovery. At first, you meet This Man who you think is just another regular man like you and I, only to later find out that he is actually attending his own funeral. Then you realise that everyone he’s communicated with up till then is a spirit.This Man gets a befitting burial. His family tick all the boxes and his spirit is welcomed into the land of his ancestors. And here, the story gets interesting. The narrator is a spirit who has almost given up hope of ever being reunited with their ancestors. We see their deaths, their families, we see victims of war and we see these spirits, wandering, restlessly, impatiently, waiting for someone to find their bodies and send them off.This Man is a story that brings to mind the matter of free will. Habiba is of the opinion that if spirits can influence our thoughts and actions and we don't even know which thoughts and actions they're influencing then, do we even have free will? People are already bothered about the matter of faith and destiny. And then you add ghosts that can make one do something that they do not want to do. It is creepy.Peter, our resident Ndi Igbo, helped us to translate most of the words we didn’t understand, sharing insights into the Igbo culture and what it means to bury our dead properly. He talked about how our ancestors intercede for us here on earth and how this relationship is tied to our efforts in remembering and celebrating them after their deaths.In essence, no one wants to be forgotten even after we die. We all want to be remembered fondly by the people we leave behind. So what happens when those people have not even acknowledged our passing, much less do something to immortalise us? You get vengeful spirits.Cryptte believes This Man is a social commentary. How else do you explain the ridiculousness of some of our leaders’ decisions. Is it not easier to blame it all on vengeful spirits who are angry at us for failing to give them a befitting burial? Yet Another ThursdayIf you enjoyed our chat and would like to continue the discussion, kindly follow us on Twitter and Instagram @shorttalesclub to share your opinions. Also, you can find other works by the author on Amazon using the affiliate links provided in our show notes. Doing so would greatly help the podcast grow. Thanks in advance and see you next time.https://amzn.to/3TYUoFE All Shades of Iberibe by Kasimmahttps://amzn.to/3Nece5j Coco [Theatrical Version]Theme song  Island Music by Jarico https://soundcloud.com/jaricomusic Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode Description

In this episode of The Shorttales Club, we talk about an interesting story written by Kasimma and titled This Man.

Kasimma is an Igbo term meaning most beautiful. She is an alumni of Chimamanda Adichie's Creative Writing Workshop, the Short Story Day Africa workshop, the International Writing Program, and others.She's been a writer-in-residence, in artists' residencies across Africa, Asia, and Europe. Her works appear or are forthcoming in The Book Smuggler's Den, Jellyfish Review, Kiwetu Journal, Orbis Journal, and Afreecan Read.

Halloween Comes Early

This Man is a story about this man. It takes the reader on a journey of discovery. At first, you meet This Man who you think is just another regular man like you and I, only to later find out that he is actually attending his own funeral. Then you realise that everyone he’s communicated with up till then is a spirit.

This Man gets a befitting burial. His family tick all the boxes and his spirit is welcomed into the land of his ancestors. And here, the story gets interesting. The narrator is a spirit who has almost given up hope of ever being reunited with their ancestors. We see their deaths, their families, we see victims of war and we see these spirits, wandering, restlessly, impatiently, waiting for someone to find their bodies and send them off.

This Man is a story that brings to mind the matter of free will. Habiba is of the opinion that if spirits can influence our thoughts and actions and we don't even know which thoughts and actions they're influencing then, do we even have free will? People are already bothered about the matter of faith and destiny. And then you add ghosts that can make one do something that they do not want to do. It is creepy.

Peter, our resident Ndi Igbo, helped us to translate most of the words we didn’t understand, sharing insights into the Igbo culture and what it means to bury our dead properly. He talked about how our ancestors intercede for us here on earth and how this relationship is tied to our efforts in remembering and celebrating them after their deaths.

In essence, no one wants to be forgotten even after we die. We all want to be remembered fondly by the people we leave behind. So what happens when those people have not even acknowledged our passing, much less do something to immortalise us? You get vengeful spirits.

Cryptte believes This Man is a social commentary. How else do you explain the ridiculousness of some of our leaders’ decisions. Is it not easier to blame it all on vengeful spirits who are angry at us for failing to give them a befitting burial?

Yet Another Thursday

If you enjoyed our chat and would like to continue the discussion, kindly follow us on Twitter and Instagram @shorttalesclub to share your opinions. Also, you can find other works by the author on Amazon using the affiliate links provided in our show notes. Doing so would greatly help the podcast grow. Thanks in advance and see you next time.

https://amzn.to/3TYUoFE All Shades of Iberibe by Kasimma

https://amzn.to/3Nece5j Coco [Theatrical Version]