Where do you consider home and why? Nairobi, Kenya. I travel a lot and have lived in different places. Most recently, six years in Senegal, but this is my North star. 

List three words or phrases that come to mind when you think of home. Family, memories and understanding the culture 

Have you ever been homesick? Tell us the circumstances and how it felt. Not really to be honest. I’ve missed home often, but I think I’ve been fortunate enough to always be able to visit. I can’t think of a time when I missed home and circumstances kept me from coming back. 

What is your opinion about brain-drain? It’s complicated. People seek better options that allow them to take care of their loved ones. Unfortunately those opportunities are not always found on the continent. But even those who leave, still continue to contribute in different ways to their countries.

In what way does your physical location impact your creative output? It varies. Some of my best writing has been when I’m immersed somewhere that is not my home. It sparks my creativity.

What is your preferred mode of travel and why? Long train rides. They are peaceful and you get to stare at the landscape, sleep, read, write etc.

In her debut collection of poems Home Coming, Sonia Sanchez’s writes:

“i have returned \\ leaving behind me \\ all those hide and \\ seek faces peeling\\ with freudian dreams.”

      What does the phrase “freudian dreams” mean to you? 

Dreams that one never really understands.

The mission to establish a colony of humans on Mars is becoming a realistic proposition. Would you agree to be one of the founding members? 

No, but I would go once it’s been proven to be worthwhile.

This is the 10th anniversary of Ake Arts and Book Festival. If you have attended this festival before, please tell us what was special about your experience. If you have never attended, what are your expectations? 

I attended the virtual one last year. The conversations were great, but virtual is virtual. I’m very excited to meet people in real life. The gift bags were also amazing and I valued the fact that the organisers sent them round the world. Thank you!

What does Africa need right now? 

To believe in herself.