I Can’t Take this No More!

Black Lives Matter!

Do you think that I am lying

When I say

“I can’t breathe?”

Do you think that I am lying

When I say

“It hurts, officer!”

Do you think that I am lying

When I say

“I can’t take this no more!”

 

How long before

It is safe for black people

To go about doing

The work that

They were doing

Without being judged

For the colour of their skin

Or being dragged by

Irresponsible police officers

 

I am tired of the promises

That were made to us

So many years ago

Martin Luther King died

So that we could have it better

Civil rights are no joke

I hope you get that

We have been denied justice

For far too long

 

It is time to break free

From the shackles now

I can’t take this no more.

I can’t take this no more!

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – South America; Focus Country – Venezuela

Jonathan Jakubowicz is famous as the writer and director of some very noteworthy films such as Secuestro Express which brought him instant international recognition in 2005. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the British Independent Film Awards and was a New York Times “Critics’ Pick” as well. His latest venture, Hands of Stone, starring names such as Robert De Niro, Edgar Ramirez, Ana de Armas, Ellen Barkin, Ruben Blades, John Turturro and Usher, premiered as an Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival 2016 and was released worldwide by The Weinstein Company.

His first novel, ‘Las Aventuras de Juan Planchard’ which was published in 2016, has captured the attention of the people of Venezuela, becoming an important text for the fifty thousand-odd community of Resistencia Venezuela hasta los tuétanos (resistance to the Maduro dictatorship). They read the book aloud every night on the encrypted frequency of the app Zello. This novel is touted to be the biggest best-seller of all time for a Venezuelan author. Through his first novel, Jakubowicz weaves a thrilling tale which combines action, adventure, suspense, drama and comedy while providing an insight into life at Venezuela. His book is relevant and given the current circumstances in the country, an essential read for anyone interested in the Venezuelan state of affairs.

For more about the Literary Corner, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Literary-Corner/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – South America; Focus Country – Peru

Mario Vargas Llosa is one of the most prominent writers from Latin America who also won the Nobel Prize in Literature in the year 2010. Llosa’s novels, essays and other writings have helped the readers understand the social and political landscape of Latin America during his time. His childhood shaped his opinions about life and he grew up to be one of the most vocal critics of the government when he was able to draw parallels between his authoritarian father and the dictatorial system. While his father sent him to Leoncio Prado Military Academy to stifle his literary ambitions, he not only rebelled against his father, but also ended up marrying his maternal uncle’s sister-in-law Julia Urquidi, who was eleven years older than him and divorced. He drew upon these experiences to write his novel, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (which was later adapted as a feature film in 1990).

In the latest novel, ‘The Neighbourhood’ (2018), Llosa explores the story of an influential industrialist, Enrique, who lives a colourful life. A series of salacious pictures end up putting him in the spot and after the mysterious murder of the editor of the magazine (which published his pictures), Rolando Garro, he becomes the prime suspect. While Llosa’s new book is nowhere close to the books which placed him the Nobel laureate league, it is an audacious book from an 81-year old writer.

For more about the Literary Corner, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Literary-Corner/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Africa; Focus Country – South Sudan

A writer with Sudanese roots, Bushra al-Fadil, has been conferred with the 2017 Caine Prize for African Writing. The 65 year-old won this prestigious award for his short story titled, ‘The Story of the Girl Whose Birds Flew Away’. His work has been translated by Max Shmookler, with support from Najlaa Osman Eltom, and has been published in The Book of Khartoum – A City in Short Fiction. He currently resides in Saudi Arabia and his most recent collection, Above a City’s Sky, was published in 2012.

In this short story, al-Fadil explores how a young Sudanese girl and her sister fall prey to harassment while travelling in a bus. The writer conveys the problems facing Sudanese women through lines such as this: “I got on board the bus with them again. The passengers’ eyes, like glass saws, flew over the thighs and eyes and faces of the young girls. I turned.” While the story ends in a tragedy, the image of the two beautiful young girls conjured by the writer remains, like a haunting reminder of the reality in countries torn by civil conflicts. Bushra al-Fadil’s short story is a very powerful one which will compel the readers to imagine the plight of women in some of the most vulnerable countries in the world.

For more about the Literary Corner, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Literary-Corner/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Africa; Focus Country – Kenya

Kenyan author Peter Kimani’s novel titled, ‘Dance of the Jakaranda’ was one of the most notable books of 2017. As one of the leading young African writers, Kimani has worked as a journalist and has produced several works of fiction and poetry. He was one of the only three international poets commissioned by National Public Radio to compose and present a poem to mark Barack Obama’s inauguration in January 2009. This novel is his third venture, following Before The Rooster Crows and Upside Down.

This novel traces the colonial past of the writer’s country and as he takes the readers back and forth in time, his talent in historical fiction shines through. Through four protagonists, he takes the narrative forward, charting through different cultures: British, Kenyan and Indian. The novel begins with the setting of a train where two central characters are introduced: Ian McDonald, the colonial administrator, and Richard Turnbull, a preacher who closely guards some secrets. The other two characters, Babu, an Indian technician and his grandson, Rajan complete the multiracial cast imagined by Kimani. With globalization becoming a reality with its benefits and disadvantages, Kimani’s voice is powerful and endearing at the same time. He mixes wit and humour very beautifully in this novel, while retaining the seriousness of the social issues facing the current generation of Africans.

For more about the Literary Corner, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Literary-Corner/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Asia; Focus Country – Philippines

Nick Joaquin (1917-2004) was one of the greatest Filipino authors whose works have (unfortunately) not transcended the territory of his country. He has been the recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Literature (1996) and several National Book Awards. To celebrate the centennial of his birth, Penguin Classics prepared a collection of eleven of his most famous short stories to reach out to new readers all across the globe. Titled, “The Woman Who Had Two Navels and Tales of the Tropical Gothic”, this collection features short stories such as ‘May Day Eve’, ‘The Summer Solstice’, and ‘A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino’ apart from the titular stories.

Joaquin concocts worlds where there is a certain duality: war and resistance, hope and tragedy, and the desperate and the despot. In his world, women have power, both emotional and sexual. These characters drive the narratives forward and give a feeling that Joaquin is perhaps a feminist. Blending fantasy with reality in a very fluid manner, he speaks of extremely important social issues such as poverty and violence. Joaquin played an extremely significant role in Philippines till his death in 2004. This collection reminds the reader of the power of endurance, especially in troubling times where President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs has wreaked havoc among the people of his country.

For more about the Literary Corner, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Literary-Corner/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Asia; Focus Country – North Korea

Many defectors have written about the North Korean regime and how the ordinary lives within that country are different from lives as we know it (who stay in countries where people have elected governments, enjoy the freedom of speech and expression, and are free to conduct their lives with minimum state interference). A new collection of seven short stories called ‘The Accusation’ (2017), written by Bandi (a pseudonym adopted by a writer who perhaps still resides within the four walls of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s kingdom) presents a fascinating account of life in North Korea and how the people there are isolated from their own reality.

We come to learn of the author’s unique voice from the way he presents the preface. While it is deeply disturbing to be aware of the fact that he still stays in the country he writes about, the display of such tremendous courage is truly overwhelming. The stories which appear in this book have been translated beautifully by Deborah Smith (who had also translated the Man Booker International Prize winning novel by Han Kang, The Vegetarian). Each protagonist in these stories is fearful of committing a crime and this is the common thread which binds them together. The collection is a powerful book in every way possible and is an unprecedented work of fiction (or perhaps, reality?).

For more about the Literary Corner, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Literary-Corner/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Asia; Focus Country – Myanmar

Charmaine Craig’s mother hails from Myanmar along with her grandparents. The deep connection that the writer shares with Burma is evident from her 2017 book, ‘Miss Burma’. She weaves a beautiful tale of love and war, colonialism and ethnicity and the complexities of different relationships by linking modern-day Myanmar with the older Burma. Through memorable characters such as Benny (based on her grandfather), Khin, and their daughter, Louisa (based on her mother), Craig delivers a powerful novel which asserts that history and fiction can work together to create magic.

Unlike Arundhati Roy’s ‘Ministry of Utmost Happiness’ where historical accounts and contemporary political developments seem to run parallel to the stories of the main protagonists, Craig extinguishes that fine line and the result is an exquisite amalgamation of reality and fiction where the characters reign supreme. The name of the novel may not contribute much to what the novel tries to do. But, it does manage to create a mystery which will take the readers by surprise. Craig’s novel was longlisted for the 2017 National Book Award and the reasons are very clear. The view of Burma as provided by the writer is both enchanting and poignant. The struggle faced by the common people for self-determination and freedom has been brought out vividly by the writer, making it one of the best novels of 2017.

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Asia; Focus Country – India

Arundhati Roy’s God of Small Things (1997) was an exceptionally brilliant novel which won her the Man Booker Prize that year. After two dacades, her latest venture, ‘The Ministry of Utmost Happiness’ made it to the 2017 Man Booker longlist. While it did not manage to find a place in the shortlist, as Indian fans of her work, we may have been disappointed. This novel contains a couple of very haunting lines in the first chapter itself: “Where do old birds go to die? Do they fall on us like stones from the sky? Do we stumble on their bodies in the streets? Do you not think that the All-Seeing, Almighty One who put us on this Earth has made proper arrangements to take us away?”

There are two central stories that the author has tried to weave in this novel. One is that of a transgender, Anjum, who is fond of Mughal-e-Azam and Urdu poetry. The other is of the unconventional Tilottama (referred to as Tilo) who is courted by three men. Roy has sprinkled the narrative with generous doses of history and current reality, such as the Kashmir unrest and the anti-Sikh riots. The result is a fascinating concoction of fiction and non-fiction, created by a fiction writer-turned-activist who tries to revisit her roots.

For more about the Literary Corner, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Literary-Corner/

The Envoy Shorts: Roundup of 2017

Focus Area – Europe; Focus Country – France

Bernard Minier is an extremely popular French writer who has received tremendous critical acclaim and several literary prizes in France for his novels. He worked as a customs official before publishing his first novel, The Frozen Dead in 2011. This novel catapulted him to fame and he gradually became one of the most loved authors associated with the mystery/thriller genre. After his 2011 novel, he has written The Circle (2012) and Do Not Extinguish The Light (2016), wherein the main protagonist is Commander Martin Servaz. With his 2017 novel, ‘Nuit’ (Night), Minier narrates a new adventure that Commander Servaz embarks upon.

With settings beginning from an oil platform in the North Sea and leading on to South-West France, this novel traces the chase of the devious killer Julian Hirtmann by Commander Servaz and Inspector Kirsten Nigaard. Minier weaves a fast-paced novel where each character is complex and has varied shades of grey. As the story unfolds in the snow-capped landscape of the Pyrenees (interestingly, the author grew up in its foothills) Minier deftly takes charge of the narrative and takes the readers on a fascinating ride with Commander Servaz.

For more about the Literary Corner, please visit http://www.theenvoy.in/Literary-Corner/