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Or, You’re Late
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Pinning this update at the very top:
I was able to get a new phone last week thanks to the cash and Bonga points I obtained + breaking a piggy bank. I joked with a friend that I’ll be eating instant noodles for a bit but I’m back in the land of the living.
Massive thanks to everyone who chipped in! x
Reader,
After all the song and dance last week, I didn’t go for Quiz Nite. One of my cousins was graduating on the day and I wasn’t going to miss it and the attendant festivities. I thought I would be able to make it to the quiz but I flew too close to the sun with that one. I live to compete another day! If you went, I hope you had a lovely time— my invitation to join my team still stands.
I recently went to the Nairobi Gallery to see this show:
When I first went to see it, the guard at the entrance told me I was late - it was just before 5pm and the Gallery closes at 5.30pm. If you’re wondering why he’d try to discourage someone with 40-odd minutes to see the work on display, may I present to you eCitizen, the bane of many a Kenyan’s existence. Everything state-related is now routed through it and the hoops one must jump through to be able to visit a National Museums of Kenya property are ridiculous. After I stood by as a friend paid for us both earlier this year, I got a Nature Kenya membership just to avoid the hassle of paying via eCitizen and I regret nothing. Away from my jokey tone, I detest the fact that one has to have some privilege (this isn’t sponsored, I paid for my membership &c) to be able to bypass all the things they put one through.
Sometimes it feels like one lives in a country that doesn’t want them to enjoy anything unless they pay, pay, pay. Nairobians may remember the days when the Nairobi Arboretum charged no entry fee. Now it’s at least 105 KES ($0.80 US) just to touch grass. And that’s not accounting for getting to the site, which is located in one of Nairobi’s more affluent neighbourhoods and out of the central business district. Meanwhile, the green spaces in the heart of the city - Uhuru Park and Central Park - are perpetually being re-opened. Sometimes one wants to leave the house, sit in nature, and read a book. That’s something that can seem almost impossible.
Some good news: I was able to see the show on the day I went before 5pm and on a day when I went at 2pm. There’s a lot to think with- the place of China in certain global conversations, its position in African life, and much more besides. The East African coast has had contact with China for centuries and it’s always interesting to think about the evolving nature of those relationships.
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Quick news/ things that may be of interest:
Subscribe to my WhatsApp channel for texts I find while I spend time online
If you’re in the Global North and would be open to engaging in the North-South solidarity that is sharing a library card, please email or message me so we can figure things out. Thank you!
Free books from Haymarket Books
The fantastic Abigail Arunga has a new book out. It’s open access so have at it!
The Silent Book Club Nairobi November meeting will be held this Saturday. Find out more and get your free ticket here.
Mark your calendar for the Zine Club meeting on the 29th. You can find out more about the club in the poster below and start your own via this form.
Since Elon seems to want (some of) us gone, I’m trying to post more often on Bluesky. Follow me there if you’re on it!
Sign the Refusing Complicity in Israel's Literary Institutions letter
The Queer Liberation Library, everyone
You can send me books, postcards, letters, and assorted items via PO Box 102439, Jamia Posta 00101, Nairobi, Kenya
Thanks to Aunt Flo and their…intervention in my life...I have finished one (1) book since I last wrote to you - an e-book: This Is How I Disappear by Mirion Malle (translated by Aleshia Jensen and Bronwyn Haslam). I hope to get back to making videos soon so I can share my thoughts on recent titles. Before then, please go ahead and subscribe to the channel.
As ever, please write back to me and tell me what books you’re reading or looking forward to reading — it’s always a great time talking about books.
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Thank you for reading 🙂
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Enjoy the week ahead and have a lovely time reading. Talk to you soon!