October 23, 2015
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
2 Comments
You Don’t Look Scary Salman Rushdie greeted the audience on Thursday night at Westport Library’s 13th Annual Malloy Lecture in the Arts by saying, “I’m sorry you’ve had a bit of a fuss about my arriving.” He continued, “You don’t … Continue reading
October 15, 2015
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
Comments Off on Seven Wonders of Igbo Customs #3
Masquerades I love the Igbo masquerades. They are the third of the wondrous Igbo customs I want to share with you, and I’ll do it with a story. The children start running at the clacking of hard seed pods from the … Continue reading
September 13, 2015
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
2 Comments
Bernards Book Talk At nearly every book talk, I meet interesting people. Often there are one or two people with surprisingly close connections. At Bernards on Thursday the first woman to raise her hand for a question said, “I was fascinated … Continue reading
August 28, 2015
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
10 Comments
Paul Robeson, in a 1960 news conference in Australia, comments on race in America. And everything he says about race then is still true today!
He says that the American Negroes and Africans, like Nigerians – and he mentions Azikiwe, an old friend – are brilliant. He says that America is losing out by “not making us first class citizens.”
August 24, 2015
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
3 Comments
Reporting While Black Gene Demby of Code Switch; photo from NPR Gene Demby is the lead blogger in Code Switch, an NPR team that reports on race, culture and ethnicity. He writes and speaks about what it is like to be reporting … Continue reading
August 16, 2015
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
Comments Off on Giants in Death and in Literature
Another Giant Falls Julian Bond has died, I read this morning in my NYTimes alert. I’ve known his name for ages as a respected civil rights leader. I recall being at Episcopal Relief and Development fourteen years ago with Coleen, now … Continue reading
April 23, 2015
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
2 Comments
Greetings. I usually post every four days, so this is an ‘Extra’ edition. I want to tell you about two events where I’ll be presenting in the next few days. Westport Writers Workshop, Friday, April 24 Special Event! Please come … Continue reading
April 18, 2015
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
5 Comments
Igbo Women and Feminism Three Nigerians, and not just Nigerians, but Igbos, and not just Igbos, but two Igbo women and one man! made Time’s list of 100 Most Influential People in the world. I read this on the first day … Continue reading
March 14, 2015
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
2 Comments
Mercenaries Fighting Boko Haram? Are South African mercenaries helping Nigerian forces battle Boko Haram? I saw a report in The NYTimes, and then found several other media, including the BBC, talking about the presence of South African and former Soviet Union soldiers … Continue reading
March 1, 2015
by Catherine Onyemelukwe
5 Comments
The First Slavery Museum Slave cabin, sugar kettles for boiling cane; Debbie Elliott/NPR Did you see the article in The New York Times called “Building the First Slavery Museum in America“? I found the article riveting. The builder of this museum, … Continue reading